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Hey there! Welcome back to another week of migration, today Limu and I have found ourselves drifting past a few coral reefs and observing the unfamiliar sea life. I’ve noticed, however, that the reefs here look quite different from those back home. I’ve taken count of the largest stretches of pale white corals and there seems to be some sort of green algae growing over many of them. I can still spot colorful vibrant areas every now and then, but it seems as though the reefs here aren’t thriving like they used to. I ask Limu if she knows what the cause of this is? She explains that this striking difference in corals is a result of excess carbon emissions which has caused an alarming increase in global warming and therefore sea temperatures. She reveals that these large patches of white corals are actually reefs that have experienced so much stress they’ve died off. Limu describes how the root cause of this issue is the burning of fossil fuels which has released 37.4 billion metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. The infrared radiation (heat) which is reflected off the earth from the sun is then absorbed by this build up of gas emissions resulting in increased temperature for our atmosphere. Since our planet is majority water, the ocean tends to act as a buffer for these rising temperatures and immediately absorbs the excess heat which becomes very troubling for the coral reefs that rely on specific conditions in order to thrive. So, what exactly is being done to counter this effect? Well, Limu informed me of a Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Reservation Act which is currently being reauthorized by US Senators John Curtis and Chris Coons. This act works by the US partnering with other nations to relieve them of debts to the United States in exchange for protecting and preserving tropical forests and coral reefs. As I’ve now seen first hand the effects of pollution on these coral reefs I’m beyond excited to know that something is being done to help them. Thanks to this bill being reauthorized, $20 million dollars will be allocated towards the debt-for-nature swap program.​ In fact this bill was first introduced back in 1998 and was able to make a decent impact on the conservation of many tropical forests. For example, deals were made with countries such as the Philippines, Panama and Peru. Even in Bangladesh where programs were established there to protect one of the world’s largest mangrove ecosystems. According to Limu the first time this act was introduced it was heavily forest-based, but more recently in 2024, this act generated $35 million dollars in agreement with Indonesia for the first program to cover marine areas under the Act. So hopefully the scope of this Act will expand tremendously within the coming years. I know that me and my fellow hawksbill turtles would definitely benefit from the cleaner oceans and healthier reefs.

https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-coons-introduce-legislation-to-protect-tropical-forests-and-coral-reef-ecosystems/