I'll be entering the Blue Economy Challege. Would be really cool to start a conversation and collaboration between community members here and others who join the challenge. What if entrants to the BEC got a link to WildLabs and invited to join this conversation after they submitted their application?

Algae technology is central to innovation to conserve biodiversity against the threats of climate change.  I am part of a global scientific group called Ocean Foresters.  Our proposed Haven Atoll system aims to use algae to help save coral biodiversity and reduce ocean acidity. We are seeking partners for the Blue Economy Aquaculture Challenge.

In the northern section of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, 95% of the coral is damaged or dead from excessive ocean heat. Coral bleaching is not limited to Australia, but is occurring in every ocean around the world. CO2 emissions are the cause of the crisis, but the real problem now is that emission reductions alone are just too slow to prevent catastrophic biodiversity loss. Immediate steps are needed to reduce the heat, acidity and nutrients that are killing our reefs. Algae is the key to save reefs by providing cooler and cleaner water in atolls. As Dr Tim Flannery argues in his 2015 book Atmosphere of Hope, the Ocean Foresters have presented compelling argument that large scale deployment of artificial forests of seaweeds, kelps and algae is the most promising response to fixing ocean health and removing CO2. 

Ocean Foresters’ key proposal is called Haven Atolls, a system for protecting coral by growing large amounts of marine plants for fuel, food, fertilizer, fabric and fodder. Australia has the need, expertise, resources, locations and innovative culture to lead the world on Haven Atolls, targeted to the coral systems under most threat from global warming. Haven Atolls will produce fresh water, energy and algae products and protect local corals.  Our key innovation is to bring cool nutrient-rich deep ocean water to the surface and feed it into coral atolls for sustainable aquaculture and to cool the coral during heat waves, protecting against global warming. The Haven Atoll will serve as a reservoir of biodiversity to seed reefs destroyed by bleaching. Haven Atolls will serve the global agendas of supporting food security and biodiversity, and will be critical to helping achieve negative carbon emissions, as identified by world governments in the Paris Climate Agreement as necessary to keep warming below two degrees.

Time is the enemy of coral. Our magnificent reefs are dying. Many have gone extinct or will soon. Algae systems can save the reefs while developing technology for sustainable energy and food supply and beginning to remove the dangerous extra carbon that fossil fuels have added to our air and sea. We urgently need partnerships for innovation, to implement rapid practical cost-effective methods to save our precious coral reefs from the looming extinction.