Community-led coral reef restoration: the inaugural Marine Scientist Workshop
Kyeema Foundation has partnered with Corals4Conservation for a community-led coral reef restoration project which will support young indigenous scientists from Pacific Island countries and community leaders from Fiji (Malolo) and PNG (Yule Island) to help restore compromised reef ecosystems (and linked mangrove habitats) and maintain the protective climate-related services they provide.
The project aims to build capacity to prevent the degradation and collapse of coral reef ecosystems in the face of climate change by applying a community-led, nature-based climate change adaptation solution in key Pacific Island Countries.
The first workshop took place in August in Fiji, with nineteen young indigenous marine scientists making the trip from Fiji, Samoa and Papua New Guinea to attend training on the methods of identifying and testing heat tolerance of select corals from hot pocket reefs, with the aim to eventually outplant them to community-led coral reef restoration sites. The first week focused on theory and technical knowledge of how to build and maintain a nursery. Participants were able to visit the many sites that Corals4Conservation have established around Malolo and see first-hand the potential for scale this method provides in addition to learning the basic practical skills involved in establishing a nursery.
The following week, participants headed across to Leleuvia Island, where they began establishing a nursery site from scratch, putting into practice what they had learned the week before. During this time
Hear from the Pacific Coral Reef Champions on the training
participants also focused on planning for their own test’s sites back home, including experimental design. Working in their country groups, they scoped for test site locations using Google Earth, began delegating roles and responsibilities, drafting their budgets and planning ecological data collection as part of the project. Now back home, participants are currently doing the initial on-ground scoping work and finalising their activity plans for submission at the end of September.
This workshop would not have been possible without our wonderful partner Corals 4 Conservation. The C4C team are truly passionate, hardworking and all around inspirational. Kyeema is deeply proud to be collaborating with such a fantastic organisation doing truly important work! We are also grateful to be working with Just World Partnerships who are supporting travel costs and implementation of monitoring, evaluation, reflection and learning on the project.
Kyeema and C4C are proud to partner with Climate Resilient by Nature (CRxN) to deliver this project.
CRxN is an Australian Government initiative developed in partnership with WWF-Australia. CRxN supports nature-based solutions projects that restore and protect critical ecosystems, build sustainable livelihoods, and increase resilience to climate shocks.
Check out our CRxN project page for more information about this amazing initiative and stay tuned for updates throughout the year!
