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Updated October 5th, 2021 at 00:31 IST

Australia: Project 'Living Seawalls' improves marine life, water quality in Sydney Harbour

The water quality of the harbour has also improved since the panels have been inhabited by organisms like oysters and barnacles, said a Living Seawalls member.

Reported by: Harsh Vardhan
Living Seawalls
Image: Twitter/@Livingseawalls | Image:self
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A collaboration of scientists from the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS), the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Macquarie University has successfully brought back marine life to the Sydney harbour. The collaborators have assembled for a project called “Living Seawalls” with an aim to revive biodiversity at the harbours and other areas built near the coastlines, said a report by Smiley News. 

The “Living Seawalls” project

According to Inquirer.Net’s report, the scientists from the three universities came up with a solution to purify and enrich marine biodiversity using three-dimensional concrete panels. The concrete panels are installed on the walls to promote the growth of seaweed, shellfish and barnacles that are key to improving marine life. The seaweeds and shellfish act as natural purifiers of the seawater just like plants that help purify the polluted air. 

Interestingly, what these concrete panels do is that they provide a simulated natural shoreline ecosystem for the survival of organisms such as fish, algae and invertebrates after they are fitted on existing seawalls. These panels also make up for features of the ecosystem that flat seawalls lack.

As far Sydney’s Harbour Bridge is concerned, the natural shore of the harbour has experienced a 50% transformation by seawalls and pilings, and it supports biodiversity in a different way to a natural coastline.

Talking about the development, project co-leader Mayer Pinto, a professor at UNSW said that a total of 90 species have been recorded to colonise the installed panels and they saw an increment of 30-40% more species on the modified seawalls panel as compared to the seawall’s unmodified parts.

Moreover, the mayor informed that the water quality of the harbour has also improved since the panels have been inhabited by organisms like oysters and barnacles, as per Inquirer.Net.

Moreover, multiple media reports revealed that the idea of concrete panels which emerged in Australia has now reached Singapore and even Wales. 

The initiative has reportedly reached the final-15 stage of the Earthshot Prize by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, backed by Prince William. The project is still in development and if they manage to win the royal prize of $1.3 million, they would use the same in other parts of the world, as per Smiley News.

Image: Twitter/@LivingSeawalls

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Published October 5th, 2021 at 00:31 IST

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