Nature and Biodiversity

What a marine biologist and master storyteller can tell us about ocean health

Underwater image of coral reef visited by red fish used for article on ocean health.

The health of the ocean is declining, putting many species at risk. Image: Unsplash/Francesco Ungaro

Elizabeth Mills
Writer, Forum Stories
This article is part of: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
  • All life is dependent on the health of the ocean and its ecosystems, but ocean health is declining.
  • The Indigenous communities that live alongside the ocean have much to offer in terms of knowledge and adaptation strategies to counter and address this decline.
  • But it is incumbent on everyone – from policy-makers to business leaders and consumers – to take action, because only through mass action can we reverse the ocean’s declining fortunes.

Coral is something of a poster child for the ocean. It’s a story we’ve all become familiar with in the past 20 years, precipitated by a fascination with the fortunes of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – the world’s biggest single structure made by a living organism.

Sadly, it’s become a familiar tale of record ‘bleachings’, the point at which the water temperatures rises above what the marine animal can cope with. In response, it expels the symbiotic algae that lives within it and on which it depends for sustenance, and when this algae doesn’t return, the coral starves and quickly after, dies. It is testament to both the interconnected nature of planetary life and its fragility.

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Once we exceed the 1.5°C threshold and start nearing 2°C, it is forecast that 90% of the world’s coral will die. This isn’t simply sad for one of the ocean’s greatest organisms, but will spell disaster for underwater ecosystems, given that one in four marine species depend on coral for their continued existence.

“Without stories the ocean dies in silence.” These are the words of Cristina Mittermeier, Co-Founder and Lead Storyteller at SeaLegacy who has made it her life’s work to tell the ocean’s stories. Trained as a marine biologist and photographer, Mittermeier has spent her career documenting biodiversity in and around the ocean, including the lives of Indigenous communities who steward its protection.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos, Mittermeier offered first-hand insights into the health of the ocean as well as the strategies that those who live and work alongside it are pursuing to try to halt its decline.

Ocean acidity is one of the nine major planetary tipping points, and during 2025 is expected to join the six that have already been breached. It’s a sobering outlook. Once a tipping point has been crossed, that aspect of the planet is operating beyond its safe limits and damage is more likely to be irreversible.

Graphic depicting the planetary boundaries including the one related to ocean health.
The nine planetary tipping points, with ocean acidification expected to be breached soon. Image: World Economic Forum

From her 30 years of working with and studying the ocean’s biodiversity and the communities whose survival is dependent on ocean health, Mittermeier brings a unique perspective.

For her, the three vital ingredients to planetary health and the reversal of climate change are biodiversity, the ocean and the knowledge of Indigenous peoples. She believes that we are not separate from the planet, and applauds Indigenous communities for the celebration of their relationship with nature and the resources on which they depend. For her, their success in protecting biodiversity comes from “an understanding that nature is part of who they are”.

She is adamant that we better “listen to the knowledge of local Indigenous people,” finding hope in the fact that their work is currently holding back “the avalanche of disaster with very little resources”.

Mittermeier called on everyone at Davos to surround themselves with Indigenous peoples and their knowledge, suggesting that CEOs should have a seat on the board that is reserved for someone from an Indigenous community, so they can better understand “earth values”. She also suggested that those participating in the Annual Meeting take time to learn from the adaptation strategies that Indigenous communities are already implementing, and warned everyone that we can’t just wait for – and expect – someone else to make the first move.

The ocean makes up 70% of the planet’s surface and is its defining ecosystem. It is also one about which we know relatively little, which is to our detriment at a time when we need to be rolling back the tide and restoring its health. Without the ocean, there is no life on earth, just as without coral – which takes up a miniscule 2% of the ocean – there will be no life below water.

The right story changes everything. It’s time to begin a new narrative.

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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