For more than two decades, French marine biologist Vincent Chalias has worked to restore Indonesia’s reefs. A specialist in mariculture, or the cultivation of marine organisms in the open ocean, he began with commercial ambitions before turning toward preservation.

After completing three years of marine aquaculture studies in France, Chalias left his native Marseille for Kenya, where he worked for an ornamental fish exporter. A business trip to Bali revealed the island’s potential and eventually led him to establish Ocean Gardener, an NGO dedicated to training Indonesians in reef conservation, with operations in Nusa Penida and Amed.

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“Bleaching can wipe out 80 percent of a reef. It may recover to 70 percent, but another El Niño can push it down to 10 percent. It climbs back to 50 percent, then falls again to 5 percent. This is how reefs die, little by little.” — Vincent Chalias, marine biologist

Delayed impact

This year’s El Niño, a recurring climate phenomenon that warms the Pacific Ocean, has raised concerns over Indonesia’s coral reefs. Its intensity has prompted climate experts to describe it as a “Godzilla” event, with potentially severe consequences for marine ecosystems.

“For now, the effects of this ‘Godzilla’ El Niño are not yet visible in the ocean,” Chalias said. “They are being felt on land, through worsening drought and, most dramatically, the forest fires raging in Kalimantan and Sumatra. The abnormal rise in sea temperatures, possibly up to 2.5 degrees Celsius above average, will only begin to show its consequences on coral reefs next year, and may continue until 2028.”

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