— To build reef resilience
we need to maintain the coral cover
and biodiversity, but also mitigate
the stresses that the reef is facing.
So primarily, this would be addressing
the threat of climate change;
but also local stressors
such as water quality and pollution.
So through the Coral Nurture Program,
we're trying to build resilience, buy
time for the reefs while we get that
global action on climate change.
Help ensure that biodiversity and coral
cover is maintained into the future.
And also ensure
the socio economic resilience
of the tour operators
and other key stakeholders of the reef.
— Our approach to reef conservation
is really different
to others out there.
It really is an equitable partnership
between the stakeholders
and the scientists.
And that's really important because that's
what enables us to build scale,
and the model is quite straightforward.
So all of the operators are out there
planting coral.
That enables us to do
science at scales never possible before,
and really provides the answers of
how to do this better to the operators;
and they can continue to grow the scale.
So we have
what's called a positive feedback loop.
It's a really unique model.
Since the proof of concept stage, over
an eight month period, we've had another
70,000 corals that have been outplanted,
scaling across 20 different sites.
So that shows the scalability
that can be achieved in a relatively small
time scale.
— From the very outset,
we not only believed in
what they were doing
and could see the potential
of how big and scalable it could be,
which is really important
for a brand and a company like Diageo,
but equally they were such easy people
to deal with.
They understood what we were trying to do
and what our objectives were.
We understood what their objectives were,
and we found a lovely, happy medium
for us both to come together and
achieve hopefully a fantastic
mutual outcome — for both parties
and ultimately for the great Barrier
Reef and its long term future.
We also happen to have a pretty impressive
spirits distillery at the southern
tip of the Great Barrier Reef.
So we felt like there was
a really big opportunity and almost
an onus on us as a big manufacturer
to do our bit, to help our own backyard.
And what better part of Australia
and the world to help than
arguably our greatest national treasure
in the Great Barrier Reef itself.
— Diageo's support
for the project
has been an absolute game changer for us.
So the support directly
goes to the operators and that has meant
they can keep planting during periods
especially when there are tourism
downturns.
And COVID 19 was a really good example
of when we simply had no tourists.
The other really critical angle
that Diageo provides
for us is the external visibility
to a huge network of supporters.
And it means that the messages
that we can really communicate
about the success of the program,
not just in terms of the ecological gains,
but also the social gains to all of the
operators and the stakeholder livelihoods,
reaches a really wide community.
Wider
than we can possibly do by ourselves.
—So ultimately,
if there is the passion, the motivation,
the desire of our industry partners,
if we as scientists
can continue to bring the knowledge
that's needed and continue this
harmonious partnership,
then ultimately the scope is limitless.
— So other community
stakeholders can quite simply get involved
by supporting the tourism operators.
Do not give up on the reef.
Visit the reef and see the incredible
action that all of the local communities
that are rehabilitating
the reef can can really achieve.
Whether that's
maintaining the existing healthy sites
or rebuilding some of the degraded areas.
Every visitor counts right now, and
that supports our process even further.
