Ecological restoration may save the world's coral atoll islands, home to a "treasure trove of biodiversity", from the rising seas of climate change, a new study suggests.
An international team of scientists, conservationists, and an indigenous leader published a paper today in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, arguing that ecological restoration could help the islands adapt to rising sea levels.
"While global carbon emission reduction is imperative, local measures could be the key to the islands outpacing sea levels," a spokesperson said.
The study’s lead author, Sebastian Steibl from the University of Auckland said the coral atoll islands were "far from being doomed."
"In their natural state most coral atoll islands could adapt to sea level rise", he said.
"This paper is a global call to identify and quantify the best measures for restoring atoll island growth."
The world’s 320 tropical coral atolls are made up of thousands of islands and are a "treasure trove of biodiversity", having been homes to millions of turtles and seabirds.
These islands are naturally growing up to one centimetre a year by accreting sediment – enough to outpace most predictions of sea level rise, according to study authors.
The team of scientists said, "ecologically restoring this natural process holds the key to climate change resilience for the islands".
While densely populated islands such as in the Maldives will still need human-engineered solutions most coral atoll islands are sparsely inhabited and excellent candidates for restoration, the scientists said in a media release.
The team is already trialling restoration methods on atolls such as Tetiaroa and Palmyra in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Aldabra in the western Indian Ocean.
Study co-author James Russell, a conservation biologist at the University of Auckland, suggested that the climate damage fund announced at COP28 could be a potential source of funding for local restoration projects.
"Funding restoration work would empower communities to take back ownership of their futures."
Researchers said "people living on coral atolls are largely ignored when industrialised nations negotiate responses to climate change."
Cultural director of the Tetiaroa Society and co-author Hinano Teavai-Murphy said the traditional knowledge of "Oceanian people has always been about respecting and preserving the connected marine and terrestrial systems.
“Local knowledge alongside cutting-edge science needs to be included in atoll restoration programs."
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