Will a human-rights approach to coral reef protection work?

Wild Insights: Protecting our own interests may protect marine life

By Annette J Beveridge

Protecting nature often feels way down the list of priorities for governments and people generally unless any environmental issue hurts our way of life. There is little rush to protect the natural world for its own sake.

We always put people first……even though we are an intrinsic part of the natural world. Now, a new science project researching coral reef protections considers whether a human-rights approach to the safeguarding of marine ecosystems could work.

The importance of coral reefs

Often known as the ocean’s rainforests, coral reefs are home to fish, invertebrates, and sea mammals. Although covering less than 1% of the sea floor, more than 800 species of coral create habitats supporting reef-rich species excluding fungi and microbes.

Shaped by millions of years of evolution, coral reefs also have symbiotic relationships with other species. Coral reefs are important for biodiversity as well as for us.

More than one billion people depend on coral reefs for food and income. Reefs act as a natural barrier during storms helping to reduce the force of waves that could impact the shoreline and coastal communities.

Sadly, reefs are one of the most threatened ecosystems on this planet. A healthy reef is vital for the ocean’s food chain and for the economy. It provides jobs for local communities and aids financial revenue from tourism. We need coral reefs but reefs need our protection from human-induced climate change.

Dr Emma Camp from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) was lead author on the research project and stated the window of opportunity to conserve coral reefs is rapidly closing.

It is true that coral reefs around the world continue to degrade.

Dr Camp said: "2024 marks the fourth global coral bleaching event impacting more than 50% of the world's coral reefs, as well as other stressors such as pollution. This is an urgent reminder that the loss of coral ecosystems negatively impacts both humans and nonhumans.

"Implementing coral reef conservation through a human-rights-based approach will provide a practical path towards a much-needed transformation of local, national, and international governance, while also highlighting the human side of coral loss."

Corals are not rocks or plants, they are animals and closely related to sea anemones and jellyfish. Individual corals are known as polyps. Coral reefs are made up of thousands of polyps clustered together forming a living reef.