ÜBER DIESE EPISODE
Sam Teicher is the Co-Founder and Chief Reef Official for Coral Vita, a company he and a graduate school colleague formed in 2015 given their great concerns with coral reef decline. Sam makes clear that fully half of all coral reefs have been killed, and 90% are expected to perish by 2050 without concerted global interventions. Sam and his colleague, Gator Halpern, decided to take action and to build a business case for scaling coral reef restoration efforts. Yale provided the initial $1,000 for them to develop a business plan.
The conversation begins with a clear definition of coral: They are living organisms with exoskeletons of carbonaceous material. The coral form colonies that grow and grow, notable in size... like the 2,300 kilometer long Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Remarkably, reefs that cover 1% of the ocean floor provide for 25% of all marine life. The reefs provide habitat and thus food for fisheries. The reefs also play an important role in protecting beaches.
Sam explains that there are about 6,000 types of coral, mostly located in tropical waters between the 30th latitude north and the 30th latitude south. To thrive, corals need suitable temperatures, plus appropriate salinity and light. The death of corals is attributable to several factors, but primary among them is climate change which has driven up water temperatures. Pollution and sedimentation also harm reefs, as does some forms of fishing and development.
Sam recounts the genesis of Coral Vita, how he and Gator drew upon extensive research and development of restoration techniques. Then they developed a business plan that aligned the interests of myriad stakeholders in reef restoration and ecological regeneration. They began their operations in The Bahamas where resorts and other industries have had to displace reefs. Coral Vita has been effective in relocating these wildlife assets to comply with regulations and to support the local economy and tourism.
Soon thereafter they were awarded a prize from Prince William and his Earth Shot Prize. In fact, William and Kate came to The Bahamas to witness Cora Vita's operations. Sam and Gator were also recognized by Forbes Magazine for their entrepreneurship. And the business has grown, now including operations in countries including The Bahamas, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. The firm now employs 40 staff.
Sam described the process of growing coral in aquacultures which dramatically shortens the growth periods of coral. At what he calls "the coral factory," Coral Vita is intently studying corals to determine which grow fastest and which are most resilient to changes in water temperatures. Today, Coral Vita licenses some of its inventions and software to other organizations with the same mission of protecting corals and the fragile ecosystems that they develop. Fully one billion people rely on reefs in one way or another.
Ted asks Sam at the end about optimism. Sam makes clear that he is pragmatic and that unfortunately, things will get worse. He notes that it may be generations from now that realize the benefits of today's work to reverse the course of coral reef destruction... until reefs survive and thrive. He notes that clearly the best thing would be for our global society to stop killing the reefs, much like ending deforestation. Until then raising awareness about the importance of corals is key, so is coral reef restoration. To get involved check out https://coralvita.co.
