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Reviving corals -- how can your community maintain the living sea sculptures?
Do you live in or know of a place that could benefit from coral restoration, shore protection, artistic coral refuges?
Corals are dying due to many conditions largely caused by humans: overfishing, pollution, run-off, climate change, ocean acidification, sedimentation.
How we can implement more restoration to complement Marine Protected Areas and waste reduction?
I work to rehabilitate corals using Biorock® mineral accretion.
This is how it works:
low volt direct current through seawater precipitates mineral deposition onto metal. The resulting surface is a natural substrate for corals to settle upon and colonize. The process can increase their survival in heating trends, and the corals can grow faster because they are getting minerals for exoskeleton growth from the electrolysis. To learn more about a current project in Cancun, Mexico that unites art, science, and eco-tourism: http://kck.st/vZ4GIk
And also: http://blog.ted.com/2012/03/09/sculpting-coral-gardens-fellows-friday-with-colleen-flanigan/
The aim is to help people and oceans live in better harmony.
What do you think makes the ideal scenario and approach for creating a successful coral refuge that is assured to be maintained after installation?
Do you have suggestions for creating a self-contained power supply to make this technology more viable worldwide?
Closing Statement from Colleen Flanigan
thank you all, for joining and sharing your voices.. And thanks, Troy, for those contacts; I did not get here in time to reply. This question led to discussion and agreement that there are problems and solutions are needed. Seems internal infrastructure and interdisciplinary programs are suggested. Bottom up. I tried to reframe the question to invite more direct responses about who within communities are interested in this work and how can they set up systems to be responsible for these type of projects. What are the incentives and ways to get more projects going. To date, Bali has the 2 most cared for Biorock nurseries and it is because of expats and locals, NGO's and dive shops, govt, tourists, universities, and workshops doing it together. As an artist activist, I believe this art/sci work can help the environment, the economy, and education, so hope to meet more partners open and ready to make it happen.
Harald Jezek 50+
The main, global, problems for corals are temperature rise and ocean acidification. Corals, especially stony corals, have a very narrow range of tolerance when it comes to temperature and pH. High temperatures eventually will lead to the expulsion of algae (coral bleaching) that lives in synergy with the coral and lead to the coral's demise. The degree of bleaching depends on the temperature and time the corals are exposed to elevated temperatures.
Ocean acidification so far is less a problem (yet), but lowering the ocean pH would interfere with the coral's capability to produce it's calcium skeleton on which all stony corals rely upon.
In either case, creating artificial structures for corals can settle doesn't reduce the damage done by above (and other) mentioned environmental factors.
The main benefit of putting artificial structures (as art or just ship wrecks) in the ocean is to provide a ground where corals can settle (they usually don't settle just on the sand floor).
Troy Patterson
Friends of St. Croix East End Marine Park
5005 Estate Great Pond
Christiansted, VI 00820
(340)718-3367
friendsofstxeemp.org
Alexandridis, Konstantinos T
Director of Marine & Environmental Studies
(340)693-1381
(340)6931376
kalexan@uvi.edu
Janice Hodge
Coral Reef Task Force
janice.hodge@dpnr.gov.vi
(340)773-1082
(340)772-1955
(340)772-3227 fax
St. Croix Environmental Association
(340)773-1989
I'll continue to try to find contacts and update you with them.
Eilhard Molina
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Asha de Vos 50+
I suppose if it is put down in areas that are frequented by divers there is the possibility that it will be 'used' often and monitored. Of course that means it might get over visited - but then people might give the natural coral a break for a bit. Not a bad idea? Working where I do I think I have come to realise that if you want anything looked after you have to give the local community some form of responsibility. The local government system should accommodate for that. The minute people have responsibility they step up to the job of protection (like some examples in east africa)...the minute outsiders come in and try to inform and 'impinge' their thoughts I have realised, the communities get lazy and think 'someone else will do it!'.
More soon :)
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Asha de Vos 50+
April Rose Ferrer
Colleen Flanigan 500+
April Rose Ferrer
As for our government agencies, let's just say it may take much longer to get feedback if you approach them first. We don't have as much funds allocated for environmental protection and restoration, plus there's a lot of red tape, so they may not be able to pay immediate attention to your proposal. If you're more keen on partnering with our government agencies, it would help to have someone process all the paperwork for you. Hope that helps. :)
Troy Patterson
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Jessica Hill
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Camille Cortés
The University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez has a struggling Marine Biology department that could use new ideas and incentives. It can be an ideal place to do your research since that particular campus is also home to a very important Engineering school. Perhaps an incentive can be created to partner up the different Engineering departments and Marine Biology, even Biology into providing a creative solution based on your idea. The university also happens to be located in the west of the island, home to amazing reefs, and the Marine Biology department happens to own an offshore island that is surrounded by some of the best coral reefs in Puerto Rico. Sadly , the reefs around Magueyes island are some of the ones being affected by pollution and human abuse. Even more, the bio-bay there is also dimming out! It is one of the very few in the whole world. I can see your project becoming a beacon of hope on that campus if people are willing to give you a chance.
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Angel Rios
Troy Patterson
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Jacob Young
Who knows, maybe, one day, we might find that the intrepid spirit of nature is ready and willing to take back its planet... it just needs a little bit of help.
Jean Paul Cortes
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Naz Beykan 30+
To protect the marine habitats, we have to go to the source of their degradation: the land. Watershed protection, urban planning and zoning as well as urban surface cover management to reduce runoffs, habitat restoration are just some approaches to address parts of this solution. Marine ecosystems cannot be considered as a separate entity. They are engulfed by the socio-economic and urban/rural characteristics of the human activities within their proximity. Therefore the whole cycles of production and waste should be tackled as a closed loop holistic system.
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Naz Beykan 30+
Right now, as a course-related work, I'm trying to create a watershed protection and management process and plan to alleviate the urban impacts on coral reefs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, while also focusing on issues like capacity building and job creation; trying to address both socio-economic and environmental problems within a single project. (it's just a project unfortunately.)
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Naz Beykan 30+
I believe NOAA also has a coral reef program.
Beth Magin
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Asha de Vos 50+
Colleen Flanigan 500+
Beth Magin
Colleen Flanigan 500+