Fabrigate’s 3D printed corals on display at the 2019 Vested Summit (photo: Nour Eltigani/Egyptian Streets) According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN), coral reefs house the world’s most biodiverse ecosystem and directly support more than 500 million people, the majority of whom are in developing countries. Naturally formed out of thin layers of calcium carbonate (limestone), coral reefs have sustained great damage over the past decades due to the effects of climate change—such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and deoxygenation, including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the largest living thing on Earth, which has lost half of its colorful ecosystem and the life it once sustained to heat stress. And since they are crucial to life on Earth, the destruction of coral reefs wouldn’t only wreak havoc on marine life and the ecosystems that depend on it, it would also threaten the world’s food security and ecological balance. In Egypt’s magnificent Red Sea, one of the most climate resilient ecosystems, according to scientists, few instances of coral bleaching (mass mortality) were observed, but the country’s rebounding tourism industry threatens to put additional pressure on marine life. “Coral reefs…
The Tech Startup Reviving Egypt’s Marine Life With 3D Printed Coral Reefs
November 12, 2019
