Why Coral Restoration Alone Cannot Save the World’s Reefs

Plain Thornbird

14-09-2025

Shaman Bird: “You once contributed to this karma by falsely reporting methane emissions from the Bird Village’s droppings. Now, these vengeful spirits have come to seek justice.”
Pointing at the white plant in Kingfisher’s cave, Shaman Bird added: “That is the Coral Skeleton. Got it now?”

In “Ghosts”; Wild Wise Weird [1]

© Wix

Coral reefs are often described as the “rainforests of the sea,” home to more than 30% of named marine species and vital to nearly a billion people who depend on them for food, livelihoods, and coastal protection [2,3]. Yet these ecosystems are under siege. Climate change, overfishing, and pollution—exacerbated by mass bleaching events—are steadily eroding reef resilience [4,5]. Coral restoration techniques, such as nursery planting, fragment transplantation, and artificial reef construction, have emerged as promising interventions. But can restoration realistically be scaled globally to match the magnitude of the crisis?

A new global study by Mulà and colleagues [6] delivers a sobering answer: restoration cannot be scaled up globally to save reefs from widespread loss and degradation. Analyzing 220 restoration projects worldwide alongside ecological and climate models, the researchers identified three concerning patterns. First, restoration efforts are often located near human settlements, where stressors like pollution and overfishing are most severe. Second, short-term outcomes showed no consistent link to ecological predictors such as cumulative impacts, suggesting that success depends more on logistical feasibility than environmental suitability. Third, most restored reefs are highly vulnerable to bleaching, with more than half exposed within just five years of intervention.

The financial challenge is equally daunting. Even under optimistic assumptions, rehabilitating just 10% of degraded reefs would exceed US$1 billion, with upper estimates reaching US$16.7 trillion—levels far beyond current global investment [6]. Survival rates vary widely across sites, and monitoring often ends prematurely, leaving long-term effectiveness uncertain.

The study underscores that while local restoration can deliver important benefits—supporting communities, safeguarding shorelines, and maintaining cultural connections—it cannot replace systemic solutions. Addressing root causes, namely greenhouse gas emissions and unsustainable land–sea interactions, remains essential [7]. Restoration must therefore be targeted, realistic, and embedded within broader conservation strategies.

The study emphasizes that while local restoration can provide benefits—supporting communities, protecting shorelines, and maintaining cultural ties—it cannot substitute for addressing root causes: reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving land–sea management [7,8]. Restoration should be targeted, realistic, and integrated with broader conservation strategies.

Coral reefs sustain human societies, yet our choices—burning fossil fuels, degrading coasts—threaten their survival [9]. Strengthening the Nature Quotient (NQ) means recognizing that reef conservation is inseparable from climate action. Without higher NQ in governance, business, and daily life, humanity risks losing not only reefs but also the life-support systems they provide to all life forms [10].

References

[1] Vuong QH. (2024). Wild Wise Weird. https://books.google.com/books?id=N10jEQAAQBAJ

[2] Fisher R, et al. (2015). Species richness on coral reefs and the pursuit of convergent global estimates. Current Biology, 25, 500-505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.12.022

[3] Sing Wong A, Vrontos S, Taylor ML. (2022). An assessment of people living by coral reefs over space and time. Global Change Biology, 28, 7139-7153. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16391

[4] Hughes TP, et al. (2017). Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature, 543, 373-377. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21707

[5] Gove JM, et al. (2023). Coral reefs benefit from reduced land–sea impacts under ocean warming. Nature, 621, 536-542. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06394-w

[6] Mulà C, et al. (2025). Restoration cannot be scaled up globally to save reefs from loss and degradation. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 9, 822-832. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02667-x

[7] Van Hooidonk R, et al. (2016). Local-scale projections of coral reef futures and implications of the Paris Agreement. Scientific Reports, 6, 39666. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep39666

[8] Strona G, et al. (2021). Ecological dependencies make remote reef fish communities most vulnerable to coral loss. Nature Communications, 12, 7282. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27440-z

[9] Nguyen MH. (2024). How can satirical fables offer us a vision for sustainability? Visions for Sustainability, 23(11267), 323-328. https://doi.org/10.13135/2384-8677/11267

[10] Vuong QH, Nguyen MH. (2025). On Nature Quotient. Pacific Conservation Biology, 31, PC25028. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC25028