“I witnessed a small patch of coral reef disappearing [in Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park] just within two months. That planted a seed in my heart … that climate change is happening. And it is happening a lot faster than I know of, or what I know from books,” said Vriko Yu, archiREEF’s co-founder and CEO.

While coral reefs occupy less than 1 per cent of the ocean floor, they are home to more than 25 per cent of marine life, according to the UN Environment Programme. The value of goods and services provided by coral reefs is estimated at US$2.7 trillion each year, and they support more than 1 billion people, but are among the most vulnerable places in the world to climate change.

“Further reef degradation due to climate change now seems inevitable, with serious consequences for other marine and coastal ecosystems, like loss of coastal protection for many islands and low-lying areas, and loss of the high biodiversity these reefs host,” the IPCC said in a special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate published in 2019.

ArchiREEF’s reef tiles can be customised to suit local water conditions by feeding environmental parameters such as water quality and sedimentation rate into their proprietary algorithm, Yu said. This helps to achieve an up to 98 per cent survival rate, which is four times more effective than traditional methods when it comes to restoring corals, the company’s website says.

The design of the terracotta reef tiles is patented in Hong Kong, China, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates, Yu said.

“I co-founded archiREEF as a vehicle to bring this technology outside academia and the small restoration practitioners’ circle,” she said. “When we’re talking about coral restoration or climate action in general, I believe that we [are] a stronger force outside academia. Within archiREEF, we believe that there is a need for a climate solution provider, so that we can also engage the power and the willingness of corporate clients to be part of the solution.”

Earlier this month, archiREEF launched its first cross-sector coral restoration project with Sino Group, Ocean Park Corporation, the Hong Kong Innovation Foundation and Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel Hong Kong.

The reef tiles will be nurtured by a professional husbandry team at Ocean Park’s coral nursery facility, and then transferred to the seabed of Deep Water Bay upon rehabilitation, with continued monitoring of coral growth.

“With our experience, we can share a bit more about the best conditions that we can maintain with corals, and also have messages that persuade our guests to take positive action in helping to mitigate any negative impacts to the environment that might affect coral survival,” said Anthony Chang, senior curator of zoological operations waterfront at Ocean Park Corporation.

The project aims to rebuild 20 square metres of artificial reef seeded with more than 120 pieces of rescued coral fragments over the next three years to recreate a liveable habitat for local marine life.

“Finding innovative solutions [such as archiREEF] to help protect marine biodiversity – this marriage is perfect for us” and fits right into Sino Group’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability focus areas, said Melanie Kwok, assistant general manager of sustainability at the property developer. “Sustainability is very important for companies and … is integral to our operations. Biodiversity is a very key ESG trend right now, and we are dedicated to doing more.”

Earlier this year, archiREEF received funding from ADQ, a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi, and will be launching projects in the UAE by the end of 2022, its first expansion beyond Hong Kong, Yu said.

“What we have showed in Hong Kong could be scaled to the rest of the world as well.”