Environmental nonprofit Coral Guardian has created a training program, the “Blue Center,” which provides support, on a one-off or regular basis, whether on a theoretical or practical basis, in developing a participatory marine conservation project.
In 2015, Coral Guardian launched its pilot project for participatory marine conservation around Hatamin island, near Komodo National Park in Indonesia. The project’s success is defined by positive social and environmental indicators such as the involvement of local communities in restoring the coral ecosystem they depend on for a living, and the involvement of people worldwide thanks to the “Adopt a Coral” program.
Since the beginning, an official marine protected area has been created on site, with nearly 38,000 corals transplanted and 30.2 times more fish on the restored area in just 4 years. Thanks to this success, the NGO now wishes to pass on its knowledge and thus accompany other project leaders in developing their own coral reef protection and restoration project.
“In response to the ecological and social crisis we are currently going through, Coral Guardian wishes to share its expertise acquired in the field over the years, and accompany other actors wishing to develop their own coral restoration project.”
So far, two projects have so far been selected and are now part of the Blue Center programs, starting in 2020. The first project, called “SOS Corals,” will take place in the Mediterranean region, in collaboration with the local group Equilibrio Marino, and responds to the degradation of marine resources due to anthropological pressures, in particular due to the pollution of abandoned fishing equipment in the Mediterranean Sea.
The second project, called “Ancestral Anchors,” will take place in the Caribbean region in partnership with the local group Sistema Natural, and which also responds to the degradation of the local ecosystem following the increase in tourism in the region.
For more info, go to coralguardian.org.
