Nature-based solutions to climate change are actions that involve protecting, restoring and sustainably managing ecosystems to address society's challenges and promote human well-being. Challenges include issues such as climate change, water security, water pollution, food security, human health, biodiversity loss and disaster risk management. This week on Climate Break, we are joined by Dr. Deborah Brosnan, a marine biologist and founder of Deborah Brosnan and Associates to talk about nature-based solutions and her ongoing projects. For a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/nature-based-solutions-with-dr-deborah-brosnan/
For a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/nature-based-solutions-with-dr-deborah-brosnan/
Dr. Brosnan: About a billion people around the world depend on coral reefs every day, either directly or indirectly. They're only about 0.1% of the entire planet. They have 25% of marine biodiversity, which is why they're so colorful in the life.
Ethan: That's Dr. Deborah Brosnan, marine biologist and founder of Deborah Brosnan and Associates, an organization working to address climate risks through nature-based solutions. Currently, Dr. Brosnan is working on Ocean Shot, a project to restore coral reefs.
Dr. Brosnan: What we started to do was to put together an idea and a program to think about how we could start doing coral reef restoration to scale.
Ethan: People around the world depend on the biodiversity and health of these reefs for food, tourism, and protection from storms and sea level rise.
Dr. Brosnan: So we launched what we call Ocean Shot, which is to go out and restore at the beginning, a hector of reef, and to use that effort of restoring a hector of reef to look at what new kinds of technologies we can bring in, what kind of reef structures are the best ones to use. And then on top of that, how do we engage and train the local community to be the reef restorers, the stewards of the reefs, and bring all of that together.
Ethan: For more information on Dr. Brosnan’s work and how you can get involved, and for more climate solutions, visit climatebreak.org, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Ethan Elkind, and this was Climate Break.