In May 2021 we started our first coral conservation project near Amed in Bali, Indonesia. In collaboration with the local NGO Perkumpulan Pemandu Penyelam Amed (or P3A), we are building artificial reefs on damaged reef areas. P3A consists of mostly Balinese divers that are committed to marine conservation. They have a lot of experience with constructing and deploying artificial reefs in the area.
The first reef restoration projects have been accomplished in Jemeluk and Lipah. There are quite many damaged reef areas consisting mostly of dead coral rubble, slowly being taken over by algae. There is hardly no possibility for a natural recovery of the coral reef. By deploying artificial structures on which coral recruits are transplanted, this once thriving reef can be restored.
We are deploying different ‘coral villages’ of fixed sizes: either 12x12mtr or 15x15mtr. Every village has a predetermined layout for the deployment regarding location and types respectively quantities of the artificial structures. Among the villages the layouts are different.
In August 2022 already 6 coral villages had been deployed. From August 2022 we are deploying one new village every 5-6 weeks in the Amed area. The villages are situated in marine protected areas.
Within a coral village there is a lot of variation in structures and dimensions to maximize the refuge area for different fauna. We did research on the parameters for the highest success rate of artificial reefs and follow these guidelines in the design of the new reefs. For training purposes we made a series of videos on best practices for coral restoration.
Our first artificial reef in Lipah is thriving with life already! See the video Lipah artifical reef
drawing by Jan Habraken
