The Worldwide Covid-19 Shutdown Benefits Nature

Many countries shut down major operations to cope with the pandemic outbreak of Covid-19. Tourism and business travel was reduced to a minimum in vast parts of the globe and while some countries like the US and Germany battle a new wave of infections, new restrictions might come in to place.
During the Covid crisis scientists have seen a change in pollutants in the air and water. The national Academy of Science released an article by researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Nature Research and the German Max Plank institute that found pollutants in the air have dropped in various locations. In particular the concentration of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter by about 60% and 31% in 34 countries. After including an analysis of weather patterns they looked at Apple and Google mobility data and found that there is a correlation between mass transport and the levels of pollutants. But also the level of pollution on beaches have dropped. The lack of tourists have resulted in less strain on water treatment facilities in coastal areas. Many popular tourist destinations have grown quickly to accommodated the ever increasing number of travelers. This is certainly true for the most popular destinations where the growth of infrastructure like wastewater treatment facilities is falling behind of the demand. The overflow of untreated wastewater in streams and coastal waters leads to an increase of fertilizer levels and cause increased algae bloom. This happens in many overcrowded cities along coasts in Italy and Spain. Bali is one of the most popular tourist destination in Southeast Asia and has had 6.3 million visitors. So there is an environmental effect on the island. Excessive algae together with warming waters are the biggest dangers to wild coral. But also ocean farmed coral has to cope with the same detrimental effects pollution can bring. There is no systematic data collected and published in the region where the Bali Coral Farm is located. But our crew has noticed that the beaches appear cleaner recently and we think this may have to do with less pollution by visitors. The algae growth is not as strong as it was some years in the past. Without scientific data our observation might only be of anecdotal nature. However, it seems the the tropical waters around our island paradise getting a vacation. With all the heartbreak and the financial hardships million of people are experiencing, there is a little positive side that the prescribed hiatus from tourism brings along. We at Blue Star Bali Coral Farm certainly have some bright an happy coral that are getting ready for a big trip. We are shipping coral every week and look forward to receive orders from our wholesale customers.

Bright colorful coral – sustainable ocean based coral farming