
Robberg Peninsula, Bitou Local Municipality, South Africa. Photo by Elizaveta Kovaleva, Wikimedia Commons.
In mid-September, the Sea Around Us principal investigator, Dr. Daniel Pauly, and the executive director of the Marisla Foundation, Dr. Beto Bedolfe, took part in a conversation around ocean health organized by the Bitou Community Foundation Trust in New York’s Goodman Gallery.
At the event, Dr. Pauly presented a historical perspective highlighting how humans have “eaten through” terrestrial ecosystems and are doing the same to marine environments. He then emphasized the urgency of conservation efforts such as wildlife corridors that serve as lifelines for animals, connecting disjointed habitats and allowing for migration and genetic diversity, which is crucial for ecosystem resilience.
“Without these corridors, our life would be much poorer,” he said.
According to Dr. Bedolfe, creating protected areas is essential to at least try to slow down the extinction crisis the world is in, partly caused by climate change and habitat fragmentation. This fragmentation, where natural habitats are replaced by urban developments, significantly disrupts wildlife.
He pointed out that as human activity is minimized in protected areas, ecosystems are able to recover remarkably well. “The resilience of nature is immense,” Bedolfe said, noting that successful examples exist where marine protected areas have led to increased fish populations and healthier marine environments.
According to both marine conservation experts, as humanity faces unprecedented environmental challenges, collective action from individuals, communities, and governments is needed to prioritize nature protection efforts.
“If we don’t protect these places, we will lose everything,” Pauly said.
With files from Tamzin Ractliffe.