In 2024 we started a coral gardening project in Watamu National Park in collaboration with Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and Arocha Kenya. The park has been under protection by KWS since 1968 but is suffering from climate change, with severe bleaching events in 1998, 2016, 2020 and 2024 which have greatly reduced coral cover. ARocha Kenya has been studying the effects locally since 2012 and was asked by KWS to start coral gardening in the park. Coral cover in Watamu has decreased mostly due to coral bleaching. Despite some thermally resistant colonies surviving, many colonies have died and natural recruitment of new baby corals is very low. In addition fast-growing algae settle where corals have left space on the reef. Once algae are abundant, chances for corals to return decline.
Our coral gardening involves both weeding algae and planting coral fragments back onto the reef. Research by ARocha on more heat tolerant corals will help selecting the corals we want to propagate. We have been training the marine team in coral restoration practices. Transplanting of Corals of Opportunity (coral fragments broken off the reefs) onto the substrate and algae weeding are part of the program. The team is highly motivated, and we are very happy to be part of this important project.
We cannot fight climate change alone; that’s up to all of us. But restoration is a means to increase coral cover, biodiversity and genotype diversity, and therefore chances of reef survival.
