00:00Somewhere near the Great Barrier Reef, an AI system drops a baby coral.
00:06It's part of Australia's newest plan to keep its reefs alive.
00:12Abort autonomous boats, a computer signals when to release each coral fragment,
00:18delivering new life exactly where it's needed most.
00:23When we deploy these devices, we deploy this ceramic device with the corals on board,
00:30that gets deployed from the boat, it kind of falls down, it's quite heavy,
00:34so it falls down and generally lands very close within a metre or so of where we want it to land.
00:42The automated technology helps renew reefs damaged by bleaching.
00:46One of the biggest threats to corals worldwide, and one that's only getting worse.
00:52Coral reefs cover a small part of the ocean, yet are home to around a quarter of all marine species.
00:59They play a critical role in the ecological balance of our planet.
01:04But as global warming heats the seas, corals bleach, turning white as they struggle to survive.
01:11The sharp decline was due to the mass coral bleaching event that was driven by the global marine heat wave
01:19that actually affected coral reefs all around the world.
01:22It started in 2023 in the Caribbean and hit the Great Barrier Reef in February, March 2024.
01:30And beyond Australia, corals across the Pacific face mounting threats,
01:35from warming seas and disease to human pressures along the coast.
01:40While climate change, driver breaching, pollution, overfishing, coastal development, tourism pressure, and debris are the most immediate human threats.
01:53And they are also the ones we can manage faster.
01:57Taiwan is a marine diversity hotspot.
02:00Its reefs may cover a small area, but they host a third of the world's reef-building coral species.
02:08But Taiwan's corals are not just battling bleaching and human pressures.
02:13The country experienced an outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish just this year,
02:18a coral-eating predator that can devastate reefs.
02:22In contrast to Australia's active, AI-driven efforts, Taiwan's government is focused on relieving pressures,
02:29removing threats to let the reefs recover naturally.
02:33Beyond Australia's AI coral planting, governments are taking many other approaches to protect reefs.
02:40In Taiwan, the strategy is more ecosystem and the management focus rather than higher-tech planting.
02:48The government set up a marine-protect area, limiting harmful fishing and tourism.
02:55Protecting coral reefs means combining strategies.
02:59From AI-guided systems in Australia to hands-on approaches in Taiwan, the goal remains the same.
03:06Safeguarding these key ecosystems before it's too late.
03:10Justin Wu and Zalan Shata for Taiwan Plus.
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