The Red Sea Coral Reef is Now a Protected Area– A Small COP27 Win.

Big money has been provided to fund conservation efforts in the red sea, and 2,000 more km of its coral reefs will be outlined as a new Marine Protected Area following COP27.

Over the past two weeks, the Egyptian town of Sharm El Sheikh has attracted major heads of state, government officials, policymakers, ecologists and scientists to address climate change - as it hosts the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27).

Somewhat symbolically, Sharm El Sheikh is located beside the red sea, home to one of the most biodiverse coral reefs in the world. The Intergovernmental panel on climate change report (IPCC) outlined the reef as one of the major ‘tipping points’ that could push us into a climate catastrophe if not addressed. With current rates of temperature increase and coral bleaching (observed at sites such as the infamous Great Barrier Reef in Australia), even the highly resilient red sea corals are at risk of becoming damaged beyond repair over the next decade.

The reef has been mentioned repeatedly at the conference, with some attendees even snorkeling in their downtime to observe and identify the issue at hand. As a result, two major measures have been put forward. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has pledged $15 million to the global fund for coral reefs (GFCR) and hopes “to drive a nature-positive economic transition while boosting the climate resilience of coastal communities in Egypt,” says Administrator Achim Steiner.

On Biodiversity Day, the penultimate day of COP27, the Egyptian government also announced that 2,000km of Red sea coral reefs would be protected as a new Marine Protected Area – the Great Fringing Reef MPA. Approximately 50% of the great fringing reef was classed as an MPA prior to the conference, but this extension now protects it almost in its entirety. Although not directly addressing the detrimental, bleach-inducing factors, it is a good step in the right direction that will relieve overfishing and overcrowding-induced pressure on the marine ecosystem. Indeed, by limiting human activity in the area, MPAs are known to help conserve biodiversity, enhance ecosystem resilience and aid the protection and restoration of endangered species

However, although helpful, these measures will fade into insignificance if the main anthropogenic driver of climate change is not addressed appropriately – greenhouse gas emissions. Research suggests that the acidification of oceans that results from warming oceans and increased CO2 emissions will wipe out 90% of the world’s coral by 2050. This holds, even if we hit a widely accepted and haggled-over goal of maintaining the temperature increase to 1.5°C by 2050. We need to do better and aim higher if we want to save the reefs and the planet more broadly.

We are in a climate crisis, and although it’s good to highlight the wins, we can never stop stressing how much more still needs to be done and done now. “The decisions that are being made inside that conference centre are going to determine the future of an ecosystem right off the coast here,” stated Simon Donner, a coral reef expert from the University of British Columbia.

Berenika_L – via Getty images