Image Nation, Downtown Band of the Year –medium-, will present ‘Coral Reef’ for Trinidad Carnival 2009.

Coral Reef is another ‘green’ message designed to show the ‘rainforests of the seas’ in their pristine state and the effect of human damage on them.  Experts predict that unless meaningful interventions are made soon, most of the world’s coral reefs will be dead in the next two to four decades, a major catastrophe.

This mas climaxes the International Year of the Reef, which for us started with our 2008 children’s mas ‘Tobago Reef’. 

Coral reefs are among the earth’s oldest ecosystems and are this planet’s largest living structure.  They sustain 25% of ocean life and are so fragile that even a 1% change in the sea water’s temperature can result in serious damage.

Former United States President Bill Clinton sums it up by saying “Pollution, over fishing, and overuse have put many of our unique reefs at risk. Their disappearance would destroy the habitat of countless species. It would unravel the web of marine life that holds the potential for new chemicals, new medicines, unlocking new mysteries.”

Coral reefs and their ecosystems are also being used for medicine. The porous skeletons of limestone have been used for human bone grafts and ulcers, whilst other treatments for cancer, heart disease and HIV and aids are being pursued.

Trinidad’s Carnival has the potential for many things including education. If, Coral Reef the mas, causes people to change, for the positive, the way in which they interact with the sea and the reefs, then the mas would have succeeded way beyond expectations.

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