• Restoration(whencommerciallydriven)canleadtoaninitiallackofdiversityinbothspeciesandgeneticterms,andhenceincreasetheriskofmassmortality.

• However,coralgardeningcanbetailoredtofocusonspeciesmoreresilienttoexpectedfutureclimatechange.

• Therateofrestorationisunlikelytocatchupwithrateofdegradation.

• Thereneedstobeappropriatemanagementofthenewlycreatedareatomaximisesuccess.

Spatial scale: Local.

Temporal scale: Short term effects have been shown but are often weak. Long terms effects are not yet evidenced.

PositiveDocumentedexampleshaveshown:• Nurseriesserveaslarvaldispersion

hubs.• Coralrecruitment(andspecies

diversityinrecruits)hasincreasedfollowingtransplantation.

• Livecoralcoverhasimprovedandthehabitatstructurebenefitsfishandotherspecies.

Negative Ithasbeensuggestedthat:• Withoutproperprotocols,

increaseddemandmayleadtoillegalremovaloffragmentsfromnaturalreefs.

• Transplantedareasmayattractcoralpredators.

• Removaloffragmentsfromnaturalreefsfortransplantationcanreducereproductivesuccessofthenaturalreef.

PositiveDocumentedexampleshaveshown:• Coralnurseriesprovidea

commercialopportunity,andincomecanberaisedfromrestorationtourism.

• Schemes(evenpilots)providesomeincomeforlocalcommunitiesthroughboathireandpayingdivers.

Ithasbeensuggestedthatrestorationprojectsalso:• Raiseawarenessoftheimportance

ofreefs.• Havethepotentialtobe

commerciallyviableandsodonothavetodivertpublicfunds.

Artificialreefprojectsinparticulararethoughtto:• Increasetourismrevenue,and

potentiallyfishers’incomes

Negative• Thisissuewasnotspecifically

addressedwithintheliteraturereviewed.

Coral reef restoration

Ecological impacts

Coral reef restoration involves management strategies to modify the physical and biological condition of the site and thus increase the speed at which damaged reefs can recover.

Current strategies: focusonthemanagedrearingandtransplantationofcoralfragmentstoincreasecoralcover,andontheinstallationofartificialreefstructurestoencourageecosystemdevelopment.

Assumptions for resilience: Thesestrategiesassumethatreefrestorationwillincreasethehealthofthereef,andhencesupportresistancetopressuressuchasclimatechangeandhumanactivityallowingthecontinuedprovisionofecosystemservices.Socialresilienceisnotspecificallyaddressed,butpresumablyisexpectedtofollowfromahealthierenvironment.

Implications for ecological resilience

Implications for social resilience• Thisissuewasnotspecifically

addressedwithintheliteraturereviewed.

Social impacts

Resilience Report Card 14 - Coral reef restoration January 2018

Case study: Coral gardening in the Seychelles and MauritiusIn the Seychelles, local NGO Nature Seychelles instigated in 2010 a programme of reef restoration, which was funded initially by USAID and later by the United Nations Development Programme Global Environment Facility, with further support from the tourism industry. The project has explored techniques for culturing multiple coral species, with 50,000 coral fragments farmed in 12 coral nurseries. Other examples of reef restoration projects within the Western Indian Ocean region include pilot projects in Mauritius (which again began in 2010 and have involved academics, NPOs and Government agencies) as well as the work of the Reef Doctor NGO in the Bay of Ranobe, Madagascar. Larger scale international projects that bring together the expertise from different Western Indian Ocean countries are also in development.

Has it been successful? In the Seychelles, 15,000 fragments have been transplanted to degraded reef areas. Training has also been provided for 38 local and international divers in reef restoration methods, and a tool kit including lessons learned has also been produced. A business plan detailing how the project in the Seychelles can be sustained in the long-term is in development.

Challenges: The nurseries in the Seychelles have been affected by recent bleaching events, leading to evaluation of the potential to culture ‘super corals’, which have shown particular resistance to bleaching. Further monitoring is required to document project outcomes.

The experience from Mauritius demonstrated that reef restoration programmes can lead to conflict with the local community. Branching Acropora dominates in the lagoon of Mahébourg, Mauritius and has shown some resilience to previous El Niño events – while it may bleach easily it recovers quickly. However, the community did not want Acropora to be part of a coral farming project, because it does not attract the “right” fish, damages nets and prevents boat passage due to its fast growth. This example highlights the need for community engagement and compromise when devising programmes. Other lessons from the Mauritius projects suggest that careful site and species selection would improve future success, and this would be facilitated by improved monitoring and access to more information on the success and failure of other projects.

Future application: there is considerable interest in coral gardening and its potential for coral reef restoration across the WIO.

Further readingeliAfrica. Accessed 2017. Coral farming - a success! http://www.eli-africa.org/2015/06/coral-farming-a-success/Maya, P.H.M., Smit, K.P., Burt, A.J. and Frias-Torres, S. 2016. Large-scale coral reef restoration could assist natural recovery in Seychelles, Indian Ocean. Nature Conservation 16: 1 – 17.Mbije, N.E., Spanier, E. and Rinkevich, B. 2013. A first endeavour in restoring denuded, post-bleached reefs in Tanzania. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 128: 41 – 51.Nature Seychelles. Accessed 2017. Coral reef restoration: the reef rescuers project. http://natureseychelles.org/what-we-do/coral-reef-restorationNg, C.S.L., Toh, T.C. and Chou, L.M. 2016. Coral restoration in Singapore’s sediment-challenged sea. Regional Studies in Marine Science 8: 422 – 429.Okubo, N. and Onuma, A. 2015. An economic and ecological consideration of commercial coral transplantation to restore the marine ecosystem in Okinawa, Japan. Ecosystem Services 11: 39 – 44.Reef Doctor. Accessed 2017. Reef restoration. https://www.reefdoctor.org/projects/conservation/coral-reefs/reef-restoration/Rinkevich, B. 2014. Rebuilding coral reefs: does active reef restoration lead to sustainable reefs? Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 7: 28 – 36.Shaish, L., Levy, G., Katzir, G. and Rinkevich, B. 2010. Employing a highly fragmented, weedy coral species in reef restoration. Ecological Engineering 36(10): 1424 – 1432.USAID Southern Africa. 2013. Factsheet: Reef Rescuers. https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/Nature%20Seychelles.pdf

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