Why protecting coral reefs protects the planet
Coral reefs are crucial to ocean health. Here’s how a collective of young ocean advocates is creating a global movement of passionate “coral gardeners.”
Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative supports individuals and organizations developing solutions to today’s environmental challenges.
In 2015, a teenage Titouan Bernicot was surfing off the island of Mo’orea, in French Polynesia, when he noticed the corals beneath his feet appeared seriously deteriorated. Just days later, the corals had died. Bernicot was shocked — but determined to act. Now, his organization, Coral Gardeners, is among the most successful and technologically innovative reef conservation projects in the world.
The world has lost more than half of its coral reefs since 1950, with rising water temperatures a leading cause. Coral reefs are crucial to ocean health: Known as “the rainforests of the sea,” thousands of species of marine life depend on them for food and shelter. If coral reefs disappear, many marine species could disappear, too.
In our island communities, the reefs are our way of life. The local economy is based on the health of these reefs. From fishing to diving to tourism, everything is linked to them. But this is a global issue, too. We all breathe the same oxygen, at least half of which comes from a healthy ocean. We must all be responsible.
Not long after Bernicot made that first shocking discovery, he learned about coral restoration. This involves clipping small coral fragments from reefs, growing them in the protected environment of an underwater nursery, and then “planting” these healthy corals onto deteriorated reef sites. Once planted, the corals continue to grow and thrive, reviving damaged reefs.
In 2017, aged just 18, Bernicot launched his own, local coral restoration initiative, Coral Gardeners, with some childhood friends. But the bigger goal was to kickstart a global movement — and Bernicot knew social media would be a powerful tool. “We gave a new look to conservation,” he says, “focusing on beautiful imagery and videos, and showing this is a global issue that affects us all.”
It worked. Coral Gardeners has reached more than 200 million people with its imagery and videos, inspiring everyone from Hollywood celebrities to leading sportsmen to “adopt” corals. Buoyed by this success, Bernicot is growing more ambitious. Now, CG Labs, Coral Gardeners’ research and development center, is looking to technology to revolutionize ocean conservation and speed up success.
We’ve developed an advanced artificial intelligence platform, ReefOS. Using connected cameras and sensors, it reports on the number of species coming back to the reef, the interaction between species, coral growth, and more. We’re reducing the amount of time it takes to monitor the health of each site by a factor of ten.
Support through Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has been instrumental in helping Coral Gardeners scale up their ambitions. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be part of this inspiring group of Perpetual Planet Initiative partners,” Bernicot says. “We’re all tired of hearing bad news like, ‘The reef is dying.’ We want to bring back hope.”
Today, Coral Gardeners brings hope to French Polynesia’s communities by engaging them in educational workshops that involve everyone — from schoolchildren to fishermen to surfers — in the mission. With the help of their island neighbors, Bernicot and team have planted more than 30,000 corals in the region so far.
The next step is to spread that hope via a goal of one million corals planted globally by 2025. Bernicot envisions opening branches of Coral Gardeners around the world, empowering local communities to protect their reefs, and using technology to share data and successes. “We don’t have time to wait,” Bernicot says. “We need to think big for the reefs.”