Coral Reefs: A Canary in the Coal-Mine for the Anthropocene? | David Obura
Coral reefs are one of the most iconic ecosystems on our planet. They host the highest diversity of marine species, ring tropical coastlines and support wellbeing and economies of poor to wealthy countries alike. The Western Indian Ocean is one of the less well-known corners of the world’s coral reefs but is a microcosm of the rest. This talk will introduce the reefs of the region, their current status and prospects under climate change and global development challenges, and what this means not only for reefs and people dependent on them, but as a sign of broader changes on our planet earth. The scope will extend from local sustainability challenges to global, using the Sustainable Development Goals and new biodiversity targets agreed in Montreal in December 2022 as signposts for a sustainable future.
David Obura is a Founding Director of CORDIO East Africa, a knowledge organization supporting sustainability of coral reef and marine systems in the Western Indian Ocean. CORDIO takes research to management and policy, builds capacity, and works with stakeholders, managers and policy makers. David’s primary research is on coral reef resilience, biogeography and climate change impacts, and turning now towards sustainability science using coral reefs as a model.
At the boundary between science and action, David works to integrate conservation and development across scales, in the context provided by global sustainability goals and targets. He works from the local scale, through fostering innovative action to promote sustainability, through regional scale alignment and integration, to global scales, bringing knowledge and local-regional practice into decision-making contexts. David serves on the Earth Commission, Co-Chairs the IPBES Nexus Assessment (2022-2024) and has been active in bringing sustainability science into discussions on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. David was awarded Kenya’s national honour, Moran of the Burning Spear in December 2021, and the Coral Reef Conservation Award of the International Coral Reef Society in 2022.
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