Efforts to restore coral reef boosted

Training programme to boost Madagascar’s response to coral degradation

SEYCHELLES: A training programme, jointly hosted by Nature Seychelles and WWF Madagascar, came to an end this week to provide science-based coral reef restoration training for four practitioners from Madagascar.

The training began on October 29 with three days of online theoretical instruction covering essential principles of restoration ecology and best practices, appropriate design, logistics, and planning.

The training then shifted to Nature Seychelles’ Centre for Ocean Restoration and Learning (CORAL) complex on Praslin Island, with practical in-water activities at Cousin Island Special Reserve, where actual restoration efforts are taking place.

The participants will learned all aspects of coral reef restoration from the Reef Rescuers program, which has been running for 14 years, and gained skills in collecting healthy corals for restoration, building underwater nurseries, growing corals underwater, planting them in degraded areas, and monitoring and evaluating success.

The training draws on Nature Seychelles’ Coral Reef Restoration Toolkit, created in Seychelles and published in 2018, alongside new and improved practices from the third phase of the program, which is financed by the Adaptation Fund through UNDP and the Government of Seychelles.

“We aim to cascade our world-class experience in coral reef restoration to as many practitioners as possible to foster a community of practitioners across borders to improve the outlook for corals,” said Dr Nirmal Shah, Chief Executive of Nature Seychelles. “This is the third international training in coral restoration we have conducted since launching the project in 2010, and over 90 individuals have been skilled-up through these and other hands-on activities open to marine biologists.”

“The training is payable to help establish a sustainable funding mechanism for coral restoration required by the current project financed by the Adaptation Fund. It also serves to establish Seychelles’ reputation as a world leader in coral restoration,” Dr Shah added.

Dr Mahery Randrianarivo from WWF highlighted the urgent need for active restoration in response to severe declines in Madagascar’s coral reefs over the past five decades driven by a combination of natural, climatic, and human-induced pressures.

“While passive restoration efforts have been made through the establishment of marine protected areas and locally managed marine areas, the increase in frequency and intensity of these disturbances now require active restoration to better support and enhance reefs resilience.

“Based on data collected over the past 10 years, WWF Madagascar has identified reef sites that are struggling to recover. We are now planning to test various coral nursery techniques at a pilot site in the southwest seascape. The most effective methods will then be scaled up across the region, with further application in other seascapes. Thanks to Nature Seychelles’ experience sharing, we now have a clearer understanding of the challenges we must overcome to achieve our goals,” he said.

PHOTO: Nature Seychelles

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