A project designed to build man-made coral reefs to help reduce the damage
caused by climate change, is using Antigua and Barbuda as the base where these
reefs will be manufactured.
The project brings together what has been described as ‘an unlikely pair’, Marine
scientist Dr. Deborah Brosnan of the Ocean Shot Project, and John Paul DeJoria,
co-founder of John Paul Mitchell hair care systems and Patron Spirits. Brosnan has
been studying coral reefs for more than 25 years, with a specific focus on the
Caribbean. DeJoria is the man behind the Peace, Love and Harmony (PLH) super
luxury project in Barbuda.
They came together in recognition that coral reefs are majestic and beautiful and
critical to the world economy. Coral reefs, often called the “rainforests of the sea,”
support roughly 25% of all known marine species. They are vital not just to sea
life, but to human life, and the planet has lost half its coral reefs since the 1950s,
due in large part to climate change.
“Coral reefs are at risk. We have lost more than a third of coral reefs already,”
Brosnan told CNBC. “And the prognosis for losing more is high. So right now,
today, we lose more coral reefs in a day than we can restore in a decade.”
Coral reefs are one of the most important ecosystems on the planet, according to
Brosnan, who explained that while they occupy a fraction of the sea floor, they
support more than half a billion people a day. A living coral reef will break 95% of
a wave’s energy, which means it creates a calm lagoon and protects us from storm
surge. Reefs are mitigating sea level rise.
Brosnan’s solution is not to restore damaged reefs, but rather replace them with
manmade reefs designed to be far more resilient to climate change.
The reefs are made of a PH-neutral concrete — calcium carbonate, which mimics
the natural makeup of reefs. It’s a dead skeleton, but then the team attaches corals
grown in a nursery — 300 of them from 3 different species. Fish then move in.
Last fall, the first project was installed off the coasts of Antigua and Barbuda. It
was neither easy nor cheap, but Brosnan found a billionaire backer, DeJoria, to
fund the project, which cost about $1 million.
“It’s my way of paying a little bit of rent for being here on the planet earth,” said
DeJoria, who has a real estate project on Barbuda.
“I’m doing a billion-dollar project of fine beautiful homes. Incredible! It’s a big
project,” he explained. “The people, they are very wealthy people, and they love
the fact that everybody’s getting a good job, making good money, and that we’re
bringing the reefs back.”
While DeJoria touts the jobs he’ll bring to the islands, restoring the reefs has a
much wider economic impact.
