The Forever Reef Project

Coral cover and biodiversity are declining worldwide due to climate change. Losing coral reefs will be catastrophic. They support 25% of all marine life, provide essential foods and services to an estimated one billion people and serve as natural marine barriers that protect coastal communities.

"With every bleaching event we lose vulnerable corals and with over 50% of corals already gone in the last few decades we don't have a moment to lose.Dr Dean Miller, Managing Director of Great Barrier Reef Legacy and Project Director."

Our aim is to preserve the genetic biodiversity of all coral species across the world, starting with the Great Barrier Reef. We will collect, catalogue, and store living fragments and genetic samples in a state-of-the-art holding facility. Acting as a ‘coral ark’, The Forever Reef Project will maintain the living biodiversity of corals before they are lost to us and future generations.

This repository of live fragments and genetic material can be used to aid in global reef research and restoration efforts."

"Without question, this is the most important project we can be undertaking for corals and coral reefs." Dr Charlie Veron, The Godfather of Coral, Former Chief Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science."

The idea came during our 'Search for Biodiversity Expedition' in 2019. Having located the 'Legacy Super Site' back in 2017, we returned for the third time, only to find it obliterated by a cyclone. The good news was that we continued North to find a new site that was even more diverse in hard coral species than the previous site! This got the discussion started. On one hand, the Reef is filled with these hope spots of natural biodiversity. On the other, it can be fragile and these spots can be wiped out in one impactful event. So, how do we capture that biodiversity and store it for future generations? The Forever Reef Project.

Due to their unique life history, corals are one of the few groups of organisms on earth that can essentially be kept alive indefinitely because most form colonies that are able to clone themselves for thousands of years. The Forever Reef Project is therefore the perfect solution for safeguarding the genetic diversity of corals and their associated algal symbionts. This project will ensure that we can keep corals alive until conditions in their natural environment improve.

Our project collaborators are key to the success of this project, bringing expertise vital to the successful collection, housing and survival of these corals. Corals of the World Director and project partner, the “Godfather of Coral” Dr. Charlie Veron has discovered over 20% of the world's coral species, and is one of few people worldwide that can identify corals to species level underwater.

The Forever Reef Project is also working closely with Traditional Owners inviting collaboration with all 72 clan groups along the Great Barrier Reef. It will also bring together leading scientists, Reef managers, industry experts, community partners and the general public and act as a catalyst to implement a simple and innovative solution to one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues, which has direct links to human-induced climate change.

We may not have all the answers about how to save coral reefs, but this project is an extremely cost effective and achievable undertaking that allows us to at least start to secure a better future for coral survival. We invite everyone to be involved, collaborate and help fund this project, as the future of the Great Barrier Reef and world’s corals are at stake.

If you wish to support this Project you can join our list of interested parties by filling in this form.