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Video - Ocean Protectors: How the Old Ways of Protecting the Ocean Are New Again in Fiji

Meet Josefa Bau from Nataleira who runs a dolphin watching business with tours to Moon Reef, a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Fiji. Nurturing and protecting natural resources is not a new or foreign concept for i-Taukei (indigenous Fijians) like Josefa - ocean conservation is more than just environmental protection - it is an intrinsic part of their identity passed on for generations.

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A new study performed has shown that coral reefs present in remote or protected regions can rapidly recover following mass coral bleaching events...To gain better insight into the effects of climate change on reef functions, the researchers analyzed around 12 reefs in the remote Chagos Islands in

Climate Change, Coral Reef Ecosystems, and Management Options for Marine Protected Areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) provide place-based management of marine ecosystems through various degrees and types of protective actions. Habitats such as coral reefs are especially susceptible to degradation resulting from climate change, as evidenced by mass bleaching events over the past two decades. Marine ecosystems are being altered by direct effects of climate change including ocean warming, ocean acidification, rising sea level, changing circulation patterns, increasing severity of storms, and changing freshwater influxes.

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There has been a mixed response to Australia’s $700 million plan to combat water pollution on the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system. The nine-year Australian plan promises to fund projects that reduce erosion and pesticides and fertilizers running off farmland into the sea.