“Fragments of Hope” – hope for the coral gardens in Belize

The nature in the Caribbean is unique. But exceptionally high water temperatures are affecting the flora and fauna. A group led by marine biologist Carne in Belize is trying to save the corals.

The waves flash turquoise in the sun. Below the sea surface, small fish cavort among the coral gardens. Off the coast of Belize lies the second largest coral reef in the world – with corals that are 7,000 years old. Natascha Gibson grew up there.

As a small child, she has been diving where tourists go on holiday. The 34-year-old has observed how the underwater world has changed over the years. There used to be more life, the colors were brighter: “Strong colors mean life, a functioning ecosystem. The horn corals, which look like fans, used to be bright purple. Even the seaweed has become paler. The underwater garden is about to close die.”

Corals attract fish and tourists

And Natasha wants to prevent that. She has been working for the non-governmental organization “Fragments of Hope” for six years. Together with the marine biologist Lisa Carne, they reforest the corals in painstaking, detailed work. The corals form an important link in the food chain, act as breakwaters, protect the coasts, protect the fish and attract tourists.

A majority of the population in Belize lives from tourism and fishing – they depend on the health of the reef, explains the marine biologist. In Laughing Bird Caye National Park, Carne began reforesting the coral gardens in 2006. They work there in shallow waters, no deeper than five meters.

They also go out on the boat that day. To protect themselves from the intense sun, the two women have wrapped a scarf around their faces and are wearing leggings and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Sunscreen is taboo, emphasizes Carne, because it contains chemicals that harm marine organisms and therefore also corals.

Always bleached and dead corals

Corals are animals, she explains as the boat heads to a small island. They can reproduce in two different ways: By releasing eggs and sperm into the water, which form new baby corals. Or they are created from broken pieces that end up somewhere else in the reef and grow back there.

Lisa Carne gets ready for her dive, puts on her snorkel goggles and fins. On this day she wants to take samples of coral transplants that she transplanted in 2006. When diving, she repeatedly sees individual corals that have faded or even died.

Lisa Carne and her team take one centimeter small fragments of selected healthy corals that are resilient. We are looking for specimens that are particularly resistant and adapt better to climate changes. They then reattach these fragments to another location, securing them with a cement foundation where others have died.

Tens of thousands Coral fragments planted

In Laughing Bird Caye National Park, Lisa and her team have planted 90,000 fragments since the project began, and 176,000 nationwide. “Normally we transplant the corals between December and May, outside the hurricane season, but now it’s already December and the corals are still bleaching, we can’t plant them in these conditions.”

This year the corals were exposed to exceptional temperatures. The last time the sea was in Belize was in 2019 three to four degrees warmer than usual – that’s a lot. The corals were bleaching and threatened by disease. This year, these temperatures were even exceeded, explains Carne. She is frustrated. “We’ve never had these high temperatures over such a long period of time before. It started in April and it’s not over yet.”

“One step forward, 25 steps back”

If a heat wave lasts only a short time, corals can survive bleaching. But if it lasts longer, there is a very high risk that they will die completely. Lisa Carne has to motivate herself again and again. It’s Sysiphos work. It is always one step forward and 25 steps back.

But neither Lisa Carne nor Natascha is thinking about giving up: “If the sea goes bad, then that will also have an effect on our lives. If I’m needed here, I’ll leave everything else behind. Without corals there is no life, no fish. My little daughter loves the sea, I want to share this beauty with her and she should share it with her children.”