Saving the ocean is easier than we realised, says David Attenborough | The National

2 comments

1. TL;DR: protecting marine areas really works:

   >And it’s a positive surprise – one that Attenborough himself was struck by during production. Over the past 40 years, the deeper he’s immersed himself in the natural world, the more he’s evolved into a vocal environmental advocate. And simultaneously, the closer he’s looked at the damage caused by human activity, the more dire the picture has seemed.

   But in *Ocean with David Attenborough*, he and his collaborators discovered something unexpected: The ocean can be saved, and doing so may be easier than we ever imagined.

   >“David was completely surprised, as I was, about the capacity for the ocean to recover,” says co-director Toby Nowlan. “There’s an overriding feeling of hope in this story, and it isn’t false hope. This is a real, tangible piece of hope that we can shout about from the rooftops.”

   >What’s the secret to healing the ocean’s poor health? Stepping away and letting the ocean heal itself.

   >Nowlan says: “I didn’t really understand this until I started working on the film, despite working with wildlife all my life.”

   >Throughout the film, [Attenborough](https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/television/2022/01/07/the-green-planet-is-david-attenborough-at-his-very-best/) and the crew explore once-devastated areas of the ocean that were marked for conservation, banning all fishing and other human activity. What they found is that, in each protected area, not only did the ecosystem make a roaring comeback – but the benefits spread far the area’s borders.

   >Attenborough says in the film: “Wherever we have given the ocean time and space, it has recovered faster and on a greater scale than we dared to imagine possible. And it has the power to go even further.”

2. I didn’t read this. Does it say anything about coral bleaching and subsequent biodiversity loss?

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