Coral reef health is collapsing around the world, posing a monumental threat to both biodiversity and humanity. Half of coral reefs are dead and over 90% are on track to die by 2050. As reefs die, these ecological wonders and the critical benefits they provide for people to disappear. The challenges posed from this crisis – from wildlife loss to homes underwater to climate refugees – matter to everyone. Coral reefs are one of most important ecosystems on the planet. They are a cornerstone of life in the ocean, supporting 25% of all marine species. These incredible ecosystems provide food for hundreds of millions of people; they power coastal economies around the world generating tens of billions of dollars through tourism, fishing, and recreation; and they shelter coastlines from storms and erosion, reducing wave energy on average by 97%.
Join us to learn about how Coral Vita is working hard to preserve coral reefs with its groundbreaking model and technologies. Coral Vita creates high-tech coral farms that incorporate breakthrough methods to restore reefs in the most effective way possible. Their scientific team has partnered with leading marine institutes, utilizing techniques to grow coral up to 50x faster (months instead of decades) while boosting resilience against the warming and acidifying oceans that threaten their survival, before outplanting corals back into degraded reefs to bring them back to life. They can also scale to make a significant ecological difference, with a single land-based farm potentially capable of growing millions of resilient corals for distribution around a region. As their land-based farms supply corals for restoration projects they function as education centers for local communities and eco-tourism attractions. And they’re doing this as a mission-driven business, selling reef restoration as a service to customers that depend on reefs’ benefits like resorts, coastal insurers and developers, governments, and more. By transitioning the space from small-scale grant-funded projects to a self-sustaining industry, Coral Vita is working to jumpstart a Restoration Economy that can preserve coral reefs for future generations.
About our Speaker:
Sam Teicher, Chief Reef Officer at Coral Vita. A lifelong love for the ocean may not be the first thing that comes to mind when meeting someone born and raised in Washington, DC, but it was there that Sam got scuba certified when he was 13-years-old. After graduating from Yale College in 2012, he served as the Chief Operating Officer for ELI Africa, where he helped launch a coral farming project with funding from the United Nations. This experience led him to launch Coral Vita with his classmate Gator Halpern while they obtained their master’s degrees from the Yale School of the Environment. Sam previously interned for the White House Council on Environmental Quality's Climate Preparedness team, served as a fellow for the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA), and is a contributing author to Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water. He is a Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur, a fellow with Echoing Green, the Halcyon Incubator, and the JMK Innovation Prize, was recognized as one of twenty two ‘Climate Trailblazers’ by the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit, is an optimistic DC sports fan, and a certified rescue scuba diver.
Interviewed by:
Perry Teicher, Impact Finance Attorney at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Perry represents and advises mission-driven entrepreneurs and investors with complex transactions and organizational matters. As Orrick’s Impact Finance Attorney, Perry leads Orrick’s Impact Finance & Investment practice. Orrick’s Impact Finance & Investment practice serves a global client base across a range of sectors, leveraging Orrick’s unique capabilities to provide innovative, effective, and thoughtful legal services to those clients aiming to create positive social and environmental change alongside targeted financial returns. Perry served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan, where he supported the development of businesses aiming to create mobility and opportunity for people with disabilities in the region. Perry is a member of the ROI Community and NEXUS, and involved with inclusive Jewish and community development initiatives globally.
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