Emergency Response to Mass Coral Bleaching

This report is on how reefs across the South Pacific, formerly largely untouched by extreme heat events, are now starting to suffer.  The island nation of Tuvalu and much of Papua New Guinea are the newest victims of extinction-level mass bleaching. We have formed partnerships with NGOs and government fisheries ministries in six Pacific Island Nations and are working furiously to ameliorate the damage and facilitate coral comebacks.  First assessments need to be done methodically while looking for surviving heat-resistant hardy genotypes.  Our last report at the end of April foresaw in graph form what has already happened as marine heat waves grow more and more intense and frequent. These impacts can clearly be seen in the field.  We have temperature gauges and equipment in place, but will need more.  It's disturbing how just when the NOAA charts and warnings and measurements of ocean temperatures would be so valuable to scientists and communities to prepare, the U.S. department sharing these graphs has been abruptly splintered or reduced in staff.  It's not only hurricane prognostic work which has less support, but also visuals of patterns of current movements which could influence weather for two or three years.  This is especially important as new information has come to light which indicates that the tipping point for the Southern Oceanic Currents has already been reached! Read the evidence here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12Ch-NIYxvQ  Abrupt Antarctic Ocean Regime Shift: Reversed SMOC- Southern Meridional Overturning Circulation

Corals researchers and reef rehabilitation scientists worldwide are working to establish a network of support and sharing in order to accelerate rapid knowledge exchanges. Corals for Conservation has contributed to this think tank: our Reefs of Hope strategies is a breakthrough in the dominant paradigm, creating the first coral-focused adaptation plans for coral reefs. In Februrary 2024 Reefs of Hope became a UNESCO-endorsed Ocean Decade Action.  Word of these breakthrough UNESCO-backed strategies is spreading and much progress has been made. The C4C Reefs of Hope Scientist had his way paid to Australia twice and to Mexico in 2024 and to the Maldives in 2025 for high-level meetings to present the new paradigm.    

But will our actions be enough to prevent coral species extinction due to a warming world? Will the interventions happen in time?  Will enough people arise to adopt the new strategies before the damage is irreversible?  Our goal is to keep the coral genetic diversity alive until some relief comes. A 10-20 cm sea level rise alone would cool off the nearshore waters and help coral reefs survive.  We have even more evidence-based hope with our latest success saving corals with Bula Reef.  With your continued backing we can certainly make a huge difference!