Project summary

Coral reefs are home to a diverse array of marine life and critical breeding grounds for fish. This provides a source of income and food security for coastal communities of the Pacific, while the reefs themselves act as a buffer against storm surges. However, coral bleaching and associated coral death due to rising ocean temperature is placing these once abundant reefs under threat.

To prevent the degradation and collapse of coral reef ecosystems in the face of climate change, the project will support young Indigenous scientists from Pacific Island countries and community leaders from Fiji and Papua New Guinea to help restore compromised reef ecosystems - and linked mangrove habitats - and maintain the protective climate-related services they provide. In Fiji, the project is located in villages connected to resorts, with the hope that the coral gardeners can eventually seek employment through the tourism industry.

This work will be facilitated through climate adaptation training focusing on:

• Propagation of heat tolerant ‘super corals’ in established nurseries.

• Establishment of local marine management areas.

• Improved local breed chicken keeping and other products as alternative livelihood and food sources.

The project aims to restore compromised reef ecosystems and maintain the protective climate-related services they provide. This in turn will help reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate-related shocks such as marine heatwaves, rising sea levels and increasing storm surges and coastal erosion.

This project is funded under Component 2 of Climate Resilient by Nature (CRxN) via the Pacific Nature-Based Solutions Challenge.