The Global Coral Reef Alliance is Actively Restoring Marine Ecosystems
The oceans play a very big role in planetary functioning and climate and the Global Earth Repair Convergence will have a focus on ocean regeneration. This will consist of solo presentations and panels. Coral reefs especially (which are not too far-gone to save by the way, despite reports to the contrary) provide essential ecosystem services for countless species as well as buffers for coastlines affected by tropical storms. If they are responsibly protected and sustainably harvested, they provide renewable abundance for countless groups of Indigenous people around the world – alongside mangroves, kelp forests and other examples of biodiverse marine ecosystems. What the ocean provides doesn’t need to be harvested from the land, which may consist of small islands with few renewable resources. In addition, they may provide little-understood but possibly critical materials to the formation of stable and regular weather cycles near coastlines through the creation of bio-aerosols and other solids that nucleate precipitation (ie. naturally seed clouds for rain and/or marine layer) where whitewater forms around the fringes of complex organic structures protruding from the ocean’s surface. (NIH.gov)
In that light, we re-introduce our long-time colleague, Dr. Thomas Goreau. He will be one of our honored guests as he is one of the world’s leading scientists on ocean restoration. Tom Goreau was an in-person keynote speaker at our 2019 Global Earth Repair Conference. In 2026 he will join us via Zoom. The Global Coral Reef Alliance is a small, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to scientific research and sustainable management of the most valuable and threatened of all ecosystems—coral reefs. They’re a relatively small but worldwide coalition of volunteer scientists, divers, environmentalists and other individuals and organizations, committed to coral reef preservation. They primarily focus on coral reef restoration, and cutting-edge research on impacts of coral bleaching, global warming, marine diseases, global sea level rise, and pollution on corals.
GCRA scientists work with community groups, environmental organizations, foundations, governments or private firms to build, restore and maintain coral reefs, nurseries and marine sanctuaries. Their projects include restoration of coral reefs and marine habitats for mariculture, tourism and shore protection. They invented and developed Mineral Accretion Technology™ and the BioRock™ method of electrical coral reef and marine ecosystem restoration, the HotSpot™ method to correctly predict coral bleaching from satellite sea surface temperatures, and integrated whole-watershed and coastal zone nutrient management (now commonly referred to as Ridge to Reef, or Hilltop to Ocean).
Founded in 1990, GCRA is the direct heir to a pioneering coral reef research tradition stretching back to the 1920s, and has the world’s largest collection of coral reef photographs from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
If you want to know more about Dr. Goreau and the GCRA please visit their website: Global Coral Reef Alliance.
Enjoy and share the following infographic on the benefits of coral reefs:
