The Great Fringing Reef of the Red Sea Hope Spot

Hope and coral reefs are words that rarely seem to go together these days. Only last week the news was confirmed that those of us in the coral reef community have been expecting for a while: There is now no credible way to save 70-90% of remaining coral reefs, because of our climate inaction. To put it bluntly… we’re well on our way to losing the most valuable and biodiverse ecosystem on the planet. 

We’ll pause here, to let the gravity of that statement sink in.

Unfortunately, this news about coral reefs didn’t even make the headlines. We had to read between the lines and make the connection for what the UNEP announcement actually meant when it stated: “There is no credible pathway to achieving the 1.5°C limit.” It was a gut punch, hidden from public view.

So why talk about hope? Well, we’ve known for a while the grim news was coming, and we’ve long-since done our grieving. In fact, we were ready for the punch, and so it didn’t really hurt. It just served as extra motivation to fight. The fact is, we haven’t lost coral reefs yet — and we don’t intend to.

Our hope stems from the fact that a number of reefs have been found to have a much greater chance of survival than others. One example, in particular, stands out above the rest and it is right on the doorstep of the UN Climate Conference — the Great Fringing Reef in the Red Sea. Some scientists believe the section of this reef along the coast of Egypt could be more climate tolerant than any other reef in the world. It has never suffered from a mass bleaching event and is still remarkably healthy. We saw this for ourselves earlier this year.

There are several reasons why this reef seems to be so climate tolerant. For one, it’s located in the coolest part of the Red Sea. Currents here cause an upwelling of deep, cool water. The same currents also carry coral larvae from reefs in warmer parts of the Red Sea, and they keep some of their climate tolerance when they settle and grow. The reefs here are also used to big changes in ocean temperature between the seasons, so they are more able to cope with additional temperature spikes.

The Great Fringing Reef is home to thousands of species – from turtles and manta rays to sea slugs and pufferfish. It runs for thousands of kilometers along the coastline of  the Red Sea, living up to its name ‘Great’, just like its Australian counterpart with a similar name, the Great Barrier Reef. However, it’s actually a very different type of reef system from a barrier reef, which are found offshore. A fringing reef is a much narrower reef system that hugs the coastline. 

When we heard that this year’s UN Climate Conference was going to be held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt — right next to this climate-tolerant reef — we knew we had to get involved in helping raise awareness of the importance of this reef. It still has the potential to survive if we limit global warming to under 2°C. It can be used to inspire the climate action, marine protection and funding needed to save the ecosystem as a legacy of the conference. So we have spent much of this year campaigning for it to be recognized and protected working with the incredible Egyptian NGO HEPCA.

As a result, we are proud to announce that the reef has been internationally recognized as a Hope Spot by Mission Blue - Dr. Sylvia Earle’s organization. The Hope Spot declaration is endorsed by IUCN (the organization that creates the lists of endangered and vulnerable species). 

Together with our Egyptian partner, HEPCA, we are hoping this announcement  will help lead to the declaration of increased protection for the Great Fringing Reef at the UN Climate Conference. Fortunately we won’t have to wait long before we find out. Here’s to hoping.

Dive into the Great Fringing Reef with our story on Google Arts & Culture.