Corals are living structures that form under the sea to create beautiful and colourful reefs, but they also have a vital role in creating and protecting islands such as the Maldives, and in helping the sea absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Coral is now under threat from changes in the ocean caused by climate change.
Without the coral, the islands in the Maldives would not have formed. Over thousands of years, coral grew on the rims of the 26 underwater mountains to create calm “seas within a sea” called atolls. In these calm areas, coral grew up around sandbanks to form the Maldives archipelago.
Nakatcha Fushi island - shown here - is the site of a pioneering project to grow coral in underwater nurseries – it has been called “underwater gardening”. This coral is then put back onto the reefs to make them stronger and help them survive.
Scientists are about to start rebuilding coral around the reef shown below. If the coral survives, the sandbank shown on the right below will grow back into an island. The Hay Festival has teamed up with the President of the Maldives to allow you to chose a name for the sandbank and the reef. If enough work is done to stop climate change, the coral will continue to grow and the sandbank will eventually become an island – with the same name you have chosen!
