This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.As climate change threatens coral reefs around the world, conservation experts in Latin America have enlisted an unlikely ally to try to preserve them: the insurance industry.
“How important is this from 0 to 10? I’d say 10,” said Claudia Ruiz, Reef Rescue Initiative co-ordinator at MAR Fund, which works on the conservation and sustainable use of the Mesoamerican reef. That stress has led to their bleaching – in which ailing coral expel the colourful algae living on them – which increases the likelihood the coral will die.
“Days and a few weeks make a big difference and so having that funding very, very quickly … really valuable,” said Simon Young, senior director in the climate and resilience hub at insurance firm Willis Towers Watson, the broker working with MAR Fund.Story continues below advertisementJorge Herrera, a marine biologist and coastal ecosystems specialist at CINVESTAV, a Mexican science and technology institute, said hurricanes aren’t the main problem facing the region’s beleaguered reefs.