It has been 10 years since the first coral nursery was installed in Bonaire, kick-starting the island coral restoration project and giving a helping hand to our beautiful and endangered coral reefs.
Fast forward to today, and Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire (RRFB) is a successful organization, recognized worldwide for its tangible restoration results, the continued development and up-scaling of its techniques, the wonderful community involvement effort, and the driven determination to make a positive impact on Bonaire coral reefs.
How it started
In April 2012, the initial permit was obtained to collect from the reef a few fragments of the endangered staghorn and elkhorn corals, and to set up the first 20 nursery trees at Buddy’s Reef and on Klein Bonaire. The initial installation was completed with the support and technical guidance of Ken Nedimyer, Founder of Coral Restoration Foundation in the Florida Keys.
Over the past 10 years, the Foundation has continued to grow and evolve, and now works on 7 corals species using two different techniques, fragmentation and larval rearing. These techniques are used to propagate thousands of corals that are strategically outplanted to local degraded reefs on Bonaire every year. The integration of the two techniques it’s very important, says Francesca Virdis, RRFB Chief Operating Officer, as it allows us to work on increasing both coral abundance and their genetic diversity, which are both critical to increase reef resilience and assist the natural recovery of Bonaire’s reef in the long term.
Upscaling and growing
Today there are 11 coral nurseries in Bonaire, which host more than 15,000 corals of 75 different coral strains. Since 2013 more than 41,000 corals have been outplanted back to almost 9,000m2 of coral reef.
An important result and a restoration benchmark of success, Francesca continues, has been witnessing, for the past 4 years, the spawning of our own outplanted corals on the reef. When our corals spawn, it means that they are healthy, have reached sexual maturity, and therefore have started seeding the nearby reefs with life, assisting their population natural recovery.
Community involvement and
strategic partnerships
The program is a successful combination of year-round field work, community involvement, youth education and partnership with research-oriented organizations. RRFB also has 9 local dive shops that serve as educational ambassadors for Reef Renewal Bonaire’s restoration program as well as training centers for volunteers.
Key to this project success is community involvement and strategic partnerships worldwide.
Sharing knowledge, joining forces supporting each other, have allowed us to strengthen our organization and continue to scale-up the Bonaire restoration effort. In a time where halting reef degradation is critical, we should not waste time re-inventing the wheel and instead learn to work together constructively.
We could not be more grateful for all the support we received over the years from the local and Dutch government, STINAPA, TCB, the dive operators, the partner organizations, and the people who volunteered for us.
It is up to all of us to give corals a helping hand and a future where their existence is ensured.
About Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire
Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire (RRFB) is an NGO, non-profit organization dedicated to assist the recovery of deteriorated coral reef areas in Bonaire, using active coral restoration as a strategy to preserve and enhance the population of coral species, by:
- Propagating, outplanting and monitoring of genetically diverse corals
- Developing new and innovative ways to carry out reef restoration on larger scales supported by research and collaborations worldwide
- Training, engaging, and inspiring the community locally and internationally through outreach, volunteering, and educational events
To learn more about how to get involved or lend support, visit our website or email us via info@reefrenewalbonaire.org.
