Countdown for Coral Reefs - Past, Present, & Future | David Baker | TEDxEncompassHK

,000 years ago, humanity began a dramatic transformation of the landscape of Southern China. Forests were cleared for rice cultivation and firewood to power what would become Hong Kong’s first major industrial endeavor. As China and other nations began to explore and trade on the high-seas, a rich bounty of life teemed below the surface of the South China Sea. For the ensuing millennia, that bounty was all but extinguished. Today, we live in a bustling metropolis in a landscape of mega-cities - the Greater Bay Area. With more than 100 million people in our neighborhood the impacts on nature are stronger than ever. Yet, beneath the waves the ocean is eerily quiet - fisheries are gone, mangrove forests, seagrasses, oyster and coral reefs have been destroyed. Climate change, pandemics, and waning resources are a constant threat. Globally, by 2050 we predict these ecosystems may be lost to history. In this talk, I will introduce what we can do to restore the ocean that surrounds us and regain the benefits of proper ecosystem functioning? How can we re-invest in our ecological future? Can technology and entrepreneurship reverse our slippery slope to catastrophe?

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