CANBERRA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Grief, hope, and sadness are inspiring divers to restore the climate-threatened Great Barrier Reef, new research has found.
The study explored how hands-on reef conservation diving fosters deep connections between humans and marine life, challenging the notion of human exceptionalism -- the belief that humans are separate from or superior to the natural world, according to a release from the University of Adelaide on Friday.
Through interviews and observation, the study found that hands-on underwater restoration activities -- like touching corals and sensing water pressure -- deeply inspire empathy and responsibility in participants, the release said.
The research finds that emotional reactions like grief to ecological loss can drive action for marine conservation, emphasizing the need to understand these feelings as climate uncertainty increases, it said.
"Grief can incorporate a cautious but active hope...It reveals how emotional pain can move people toward protecting what is left," said Ella Vallelonga, an anthropologist at the University of Adelaide and the author of the study.
Published in the Journal of Anthropology, the study draws on 13 months of ethnographic research -- the immersive study of a culture or community to understand its practices and perspectives -- in Far North Queensland between 2022 and 2023.
As restoration divers work in marine nurseries, their altered senses and vulnerability during hands-on care for corals foster a heightened sense of intimacy and a protective instinct toward the organisms, Vallelonga said.
The Great Barrier Reef faces escalating threats from heatwaves, bleaching, pollution, and predators.
While assisted recovery by scientists and divers helps boost resilience, Vallelonga said this cannot replace the urgent need for coordinated climate action. ■
