Research synthesisReefs & marine restoration

Restoration cannot be scaled up globally to save reefs from loss and degradation

Nature Portfolio · 2025 · Indexed 8 October 2026

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What this contributes

Examines limits of scaling restoration to offset global reef degradation.

The boundary of the evidence

Local success is not a global climate solution.

Why it belongs here

Artificial structures can support marine communities, but outcomes vary with design, location, materials and climate. The Reef requires both a lawful disposition pathway and a defensible ecological plan. The presence of marine life is not, by itself, evidence that an installation improves an ecosystem.

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