Coraltheca: the coral restoration documentary launched at COP16

They call her 'the mother of the corals'. A nickname she has earned since 1977, when, during her fifth semester of marine biology, she jumped into the water to discover a universe that still holds her captive. Her name is Elvira Alvarado and she is one of the Colombian women who knows the most about these creatures on the planet. She has almost five decades of research behind her.

(Lea esta historia en español, aquí)

"It is my home, my park, but I share it with you," she told nearly a hundred people in the British House on Sunday evening. She was referring to the Corales del Rosario National Park in the north of the country, where she has focused her studies.

She is the subject of the documentary Coraltheca, which details her legacy with the coral reefs of Islas del Rosario and San Bernardo del Viento.

"Coral reefs are many things. In addition to biodiversity, they provide us with very important ecosystem services, such as food security and coastal protection. They are systems that prevent waves, they protect other creatures. They are the precursors of seagrasses and mangroves," he explains in an interview with EL TIEMPO.

Production began at the beginning of last year. According to its director, Jack Farine, there were three major takes. Several companies and organisations have ed forces to produce this audiovisual work, including Diving Planet, Agenda del Mar, Diving Life, Pavo Real Films and the British Embassy.

(In context: COP16: We know how much, but we don't know how and who will provide the resources to save biodiversity)

The documentary shows how Elvira Alvarado and her team are trying to restore these ecosystems through sexual reproduction to achieve genetic diversity. "Coral reefs are under great threat. The temperature of the sea is rising unchecked. Temperatures of 32 degrees. Corals only spawn once a year. It is becoming increasingly difficult for corals to reproduce naturally," explains Jack Farine.

"Only when we realise that less than 1 per cent of the ocean's ecosystems are reefs, but more than 25 per cent of marine life depends on them, do we realise that they are a vital structure," says José Soto, co-producer and manager of Diving Life.

Today, the world is experiencing the fourth mass coral bleaching event in history and the second in the last decade, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric istration (NOAA). Corals are animals that live in colonies and form large structures that have become ecologically and economically important, essential to both marine biodiversity and humans. According to UN Environment, they provide an estimated $2.7 trillion a year in ecosystem services.

(In context: COP16: Changing the way we grow food is urgent for Colombia and the world, says FAO)

Not least, 37 percent of all fish species depend in some way on tropical reefs. Coral reefs provide habitat for dozens of species of fish, molluscs and crustaceans that are consumed; they also serve as a barrier in the event of climate disasters. As happened in 2020 with the coral barrier reef of Providence Island, which was key to mitigating the onslaught of Hurricane Iota.

"United, aware, hopeful, we can manage to preserve an ecosystem that, although it will not be the same, will be functional with the species we need and will be a habitat for many other species," says Elvira Alvarado.

"This documentary tries to make the problem visible, but it also tries to say that there is hope and that we need to help raise funds so that we can have a rescue and coral larvae breeding centre," says Jack Farine.

(In context: Ficamazonía: the film festival that aims to highlight productions from Amazonian communities)

"What Elvira is doing is seeing the sea being born. And that has to be protected. She is one of those heroes without a cape who is helping the world survive. It's a legacy that needs to be protected and promoted for the benefit of all," says José Soto.

During the eight days of the summit, several documentaries and films on biodiversity conservation have been launched in Cali. There are two that have caught the attention of participants. One is called Río arriba, which tells the story of a series of documented expeditions through the country's rivers, valleys and mountains, a kind of rediscovery of Alexander von Humboldt's legacy. The former mayor of Barranquilla, Jaime Pumarejo, accompanied the launch at the summit. The other is called Choibá, the dance of the humpback whale. The production is the second in a series that began with Jaguar, Voice of a Territory. It tells the story of documentary filmmakers who decide to follow the great journey of this whale from the Pacific coast of Colombia to Antarctica.

DAVID ALEJANDRO LÓPEZ BERMÚDEZ

EL TIEMPO Special envoy to COP16

In social media: @lopez03david