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CORALS, THE EXPOSED NERVES OF THE OCEAN | 13

FROM SCIENCE TO DIPLOMACY

It was in the conference room of the Monaco Yacht All these opportunities are underpinned by one hope:
Club that the Swiss Ambassador to France and Mo- that these marine organisations will already be pre-
naco, HE Roberto Balzaretti, welcomed Professor An- pared to face the worst-case climate scenarios. This
ders Meibom, Director of the Transnational Red Sea is when we can start dreaming: to protect this gem of
Centre, one of the pioneers in the discovery of the the ocean thanks to open science which will overcome
singularity of the corals of the Aqaba Gulf and the Nor- geopolitical tension and establish itself as the guardian
thern Red Sea. Recent scientific studies conducted at of a global common property. And why shouldn’t we
the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, bringing believe that in the future these resistant corals could be
together researchers from Israel and Saudi Arabia, transplanted in heavily degraded regions and contri-
showed that corals from this geographical region are bute to coral reef resilience.
extremely resistant to rising water temperatures, endu-
ring an increase of up to 5°C, as well as to ocean aci-
dification. An exceptional physiological performance in
the world of corals, organisms that are hypersensitive IN
to rising temperatures, as seen by the multiplication of
wide scale bleaching events that have affected reefs all SIGHT
over the world.

Needless to say, the Transnational Red Sea Centre, “After six weeks of exposure to a high
established in 2019 with the support of the Helvetic temperature (1-2°C more than their
Confederation, is keen to preserve this global treasure summer maximum) and a pH of 7.8,
by conducting various scientific expeditions and set- none of the colonies showed visual
ting up a robust database. “This centre will operate on signs of bleaching. (…) Instead, their
the principle of open science, thanks to the creation symbiotic dinoflagellates exhibited
of the Swiss Data Science Centre which will centralise improved photochemistry, higher
the data and make them available to all partners”, ex- pigmentation and a doubling in net
plained Dr. Olivier Küttel, Head of International Affairs oxygen production, leading to a 51%
at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne. There increase in primary productivity.”
is therefore only one step from science to diplomacy.
“Due to the rapid decline of coral reefs worldwide, our Thomas Krueger, Noa Horwitz,
study highlights the urgent need to reduce local stress Anders Meibom & Co, “Common reef-
factors in the semi-closed Red Sea region”, the resear- building coral in the Northern Red
cher Anders Meibom pointed out. But how can envi- Sea resistant to elevated temperature
ronmental pressure generated by human activity in the and acidification”, Royal Society Open
eight countries (Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Science, May 2017
Israel, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen) situated in this maritime
corridor be regulated? Switzerland’s neutrality hopes
to unite sustainable regional cooperation, based on
science to promote dialogue with a view to protecting
these reefs with a unique destiny.

© TRSC_Guilhem BANC-PRANDI