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Measures to mitigate climate change are needed regardless of coral, but even if the world’s great powers were to put their shoulder to the problem, global warming would not be brought to a swift halt. Coral systems must adapt if they are to survive, and governments in countries with reefs can help them do so.
不管珊瑚如何，減緩氣候變化的措施都是需要的，但即使世界大國齊心協力解決這個問題，全球變暖也不會很快停止。珊瑚系統如果要生存就必須適應，珊瑚礁國家的政府可以幫助它們這樣做。
Corals need protection from local sources of harm. Their ecosystems suffer from coastal run-off, whether sewage or waste from farms, as well as the sediment dumped from beach-front building sites. Plastic and other debris block sunlight and spread hostile bacteria. Chunks of reef are blown up by blast fishing; algae grow too much whenever fishing is too intensive. Governments need to impose tighter rules on these industries, such as tougher local building codes, and to put more effort into enforcing rules against overfishing.
珊瑚需要保護，以免受到來自當地的危害。它們的生態系統受到沿海徑流的影響，無論是來自農場的污水或廢物，還是來自海濱建筑工地的沉積物。塑料和其他雜物阻擋陽光，傳播有害細菌。爆炸式捕魚會炸掉大塊珊瑚礁；每當捕撈過度時，海藻就會大量繁殖。政府需要對這些行業實施更嚴格的規定，比如更嚴格的地方建筑法規，并投入更多的精力來執行禁止過度捕撈的規定。
Setting up marine protected areas could help reefs. Locals who fear for their livelihoods could be given work as rangers with the job of looking after the reserves. Levies on visitors to marine parks, similar to those imposed in parts of the Caribbean, could help pay for such schemes. So too could a special tax on coastal property developers.
建立海洋保護區可以幫助珊瑚礁。擔心生計的當地人可能會被分配到護林員的工作，照顧這些保護區。向海岸公園的游客征稅，類似于加勒比海部分地區的征稅，可以幫助支付這些計劃的費用。對沿海房地產開發商征收特別稅也是如此。
Many reefs that have been damaged could benefit from restoration. Coral’s biodiversity offers hope, because the same coral will grow differently under different conditions. Corals of the western Pacific near Indonesia, for example, can withstand higher temperatures than the same species in the eastern Pacific near Hawaii. Identifying the hardiest types and encouraging them to grow in new spots is a way forward, though an expensive one. A massive project of this sort is under way in Saudi Arabia as part of a tourism drive. Scientists working alongside the Red Sea Development Company want to discover why the area’s species seem to thrive in its particularly warm waters.
許多被破壞的珊瑚礁可以從恢復中受益。珊瑚的生物多樣性給我們帶來了希望，因為同樣的珊瑚在不同的條件下會以不同的方式生長。例如，印度尼西亞附近西太平洋的珊瑚比夏威夷附近東太平洋的同類能承受更高的溫度。確定最頑強的品種并鼓勵它們在新的地方生長是一種前進的方式，盡管代價昂貴。作為旅游業發展的一部分，沙特阿拉伯正在進行類似的大型項目。與紅海開發公司一起工作的科學家們希望發現為什么該地區的物種似乎在其特別溫暖的水域中茁壯成長。
More drastic intervention to head off the larger threats corals face should also attract more research. Shading reefs using a polymer film as a sunscreen to cool them is under discussion for parts of the Great Barrier Reef. Other schemes to help corals involve genetic engineering, selective breeding and brightening the clouds in the sky above an area of the reef by spraying specks of salt into the lowest ones, so that they deflect more of the sun’s energy. These measures may sound extreme, but people need to get used to thinking big. Dealing with the problems caused by climate change will call for some radical ideas.
為阻止珊瑚面臨的更大威脅而采取的更激烈的干預措施也應該會吸引更多的研究。在大堡礁的部分地區，人們正在討論用一種聚合物薄膜作為防曬霜來給珊瑚礁遮陰。其他幫助珊瑚的計劃包括基因工程、選擇性繁殖和在珊瑚礁上空的云層上撒鹽，以使云層變亮，從而轉移更多的太陽能。這些措施聽起來可能有些極端，但人們需要習慣于從長遠考慮。應對氣候變化帶來的問題需要一些激進的想法。
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