Research published earlier this month in the journal Nature revealed that the iconic Great Barrier Reef is experiencing the hottest temperatures in 400 years. Around the world this year, underwater temperatures have tested the resilience of coral reefs everywhere and the overall picture is bleak: 74 percent of the Great Barrier reef area has experienced bleaching-level heat stress and more than 60 percent has been lost, causing some researchers to estimate its ultimate demise within a single generation. Globally, we've lost a staggering swath of these special — and critical — ecosystems.
Benji Jones, Vox's environmental correspondent, wanted to find out whether anything could be done to save coral reefs and, overwhelmingly, scientists and conservationists he interviewed pointed him to Bonaire: a small island in the southern Caribbean that is home to one of the world's healthiest coral reefs. This summer, Benji and underwater photojournalist Jenny Adler traveled to the reef to find what lessons the landscape's resilience holds for the rest of the world's corals and whether Bonaire's still-vibrant reef is strong enough to withstand its next big test. Read Benji's story to find out.
—Paige Vega, Vox climate editor
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