I train communities and resort staff to plant corals in nurseries and to care for coral reefs: replanting broken corals that would otherwise die, removing over-abundant coral predators, weeding seaweeds overgrowing corals, and dusting off silt and sand kicked up by tourists. The trainees learn the complexity of the reef ecosystem and learn the major threats to corals. When these people see the corals growing, it can be very encouraging and often gives people more hope and the determination to do more for their planet.
The planet Earth.... drifting through space at a critical time in her history, abused but surprisingly resilient, she is sick and has a fever. Has humanity become a cancerous materialsim eating away its very life? Can we even begin to transform this cancer into healthy functioning tissue- Only if we can become better connected with our home. What a precious planet she is, and we are a part NOT "apart"!
A transformation in awareness levels and action within the Caribbean and the global tourism industry- taking on a major part of the burden of protecting and restoring coral reefs, the very resource their industry relies upon to maintain its beaches and shores, and a key factor in guest experience. No-take marine reserves funded by the industry and skilled "coral gardeners" imparting to guests a heightened awareness and an increased hope that the environmental problems we all face can be solved by concerted and unified action. Guests will leave inspired to do more in their own communities, and to lower their carbon footprint in order to save coral reefs. Carbon offset will become standard practice for the tourism industry, resulting in jobs for the poor, and in restoration of forests and degraded lands throughout the region.
AUSTIN BOWDEN-KERBY
Marine biologist and senior scientist at Counterpart International from 1999-2008, Austin is the founder of a new non-profit organization Corals for Conservation. Living in various islands of the Pacific and Caribbean with his family for over 30 years, he works with environmental education and community-based coral reef restoration, and on the conservation of endangered coral species. He has developed methods of growing corals sustainably for restoring coral reefs, and his projects encourage rural communities, resorts, and the dive industry to become more actively involved in the conservation of the reef resorurces they so largely depend upon. In the Caribbean the focus is on the critically endangered Acropora corals, which have declined to less than 1% of their former abundance. However, the surviving corals are thought to be genetically tolerant to warm water bleaching and diseases, and so fragments are being collected and grown within underwater nurseries, growing more than ten fold per year- for replanting second generation corals into no-fishing marine protected areas with good ecological balance.
