‘Awareness of the devastating heat impact on coral is crucial’

8 February 2024

“More awareness of the devastating heat impact on global coral reefs is crucial,” says assistant professor within the department of Environmental Economics at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) Peter Robinson. Last week the US government’s Coral Reef Watch program announced they were forced to add new alerts to the global coral reef heat stress monitor as temperatures rise. ‘Near complete mortality’ is one of the three new levels introduced. The new levels were needed after reefs across the Americas were hit by unprecedented levels of heat stress last year that bleached and killed corals en masse.

Robinson completed a global study on the willingness of citizens in both high- and low-income countries to make contributions to coral reef conservation. His research showed the general public are willing to make large conservation contributions, which provides a strong economic justification for governments to align their environmental policies with the conservation preferences of the general public. “The new extreme levels of the US Coral Reef Watch may bring more awareness and stimulate a response, because the study found that individuals respond more actively if reefs are perceived to be in serious decline. However, substantial change is needed to tackle the underlying threats to reefs of climate change, overfishing and land use change.” The study also found that demand for conservation is highest in low-income countries, thereby dispelling concerns that conservation is a luxury issue.

A global analysis of coral reef conservation preferences
The research for the article, ‘A global analysis of coral reef conservation preferences’, was supported by the BiodivERsA REEF-FUTURES project under the BiodivScen ERA-NET COFUND programme and received funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). You can find more information on the article here.