Stephen Labanyi

Circular Design to Scale Lasting Change

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) is collaborating with Accenture to accelerate global efforts to protect coral reefs. Scientists worldwide are facing a wicked challenge: coral reefs are degrading faster than we can track due to climate change. Which means, by the time we have the information to protect our reefs, it is already too late. Over half of the world’s corals are severely damaged due to climate change, and by 2050, 90% of the world’s reefs will be lost forever, if nothing is done. The consequences of losing coral reefs are catastrophic. More than half a billion people globally depend on them for food, income and protection. Despite occupying 1% of the world’s ocean floors, coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine life. But if reefs were managed sustainably, they could unlock additional net benefit streams of US$30bn per year across fisheries, tourism, coastal protection and biodiversity. Protecting the future of coral reefs requires urgent, collective action across oceans, nations, organizations, and cultures. The potential for scientific data insights to inform management decision-making on reef health has been severely limited due to lack of resources, capacity differences, and inconsistent methodologies. ReefCloud is a collaborative intelligent platform to improve coral reef monitoring and conservation efforts on a global scale. Leveraging artificial intelligence, statistical analysis and human-centred design, ReefCloud provides insights on coral reef conditions 700 times faster than traditional methods and with 95% accuracy, which means scientists now have relevant information within hours, as opposed to weeks or months. It collates robust evidence based on 62 million data points and overlays third party data from other reef monitoring vendors. ReefCloud also democratizes data access, through features for rapid interpretation, reporting and communication, to overcome the challenge of limited capacities for monitoring, especially in developing countries. ReefCloud has been described as “The biggest breakthrough we’ve had to date” by Dr. Manuel Gonzalez Rivero, a leading Research Scientist in the global reef monitoring community. The ReefCloud platform has been commented on in numerous articles online, has won international sustainability awards, and was a finalist in three categories of Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards. Product Web Link: www.reefcloud.ai Introduction Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhGzoPzk8qs