An Overview Of Our Solution
Reversing Coral Reef Decline and Sustainable Managing Coastal Fisheries
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Océans/Côtes
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Amérique du Nord
Problem
Describe the problem
Coral reef ecosystems benefit about 500 million people through fisheries, tourism, and shoreline protection. Globally, reefs are in a state of decline driven by over-exploitation of marine organisms, pollution, and the effects of climate change. OneReef’s solution is to harness the power of heroic partnerships between two groups who are spatially and culturally distant, but who share a common goal of reversing reef decline: (i) communities themselves, and (ii) the growing international community of individuals and organizations willing to directly invest in reef recovery and protection (coral reef investors). OneReef bridges these two worlds using an entrepreneurial model of simple yet powerful individual agreements that can be easily replicated to a large scale.
Biodiversity Impact
OneReef negotiates and finances an intervention based on a comprehensive and adaptive marine spatial plan, and associated community consultative process. The plan includes a marine managed area (MMA), one or multiple no-take areas, and catch limits. Catch limits correspond to species that are over-exploited, sensitive due to low reproductive capacity, or integral to ecosystem structure, function, and resiliency. When portions of highly productive areas are protected, the eventual export of healthy adult organisms and larvae compensates for forgone catch and access (these results are increasingly supported by scientific study). Where necessary, OneReef and the community invest in terrestrial interventions, e.g., to protect fish nurseries in seagrass/mangrove areas, and reduce anthropogenic sediment flows that smother coral reefs. OneReef’s model also calls for a consultative process that keeps communities in the loop. To extent feasible, community members are employed to work with local partners/third party elements to collect monitoring data and periodically share results. Results are compared with a set of expected outcomes that are articulated in each agreement. At the request of communities, OneReef also connects communities and local partners with international scientists who help to inform any management changes that may be motivated by the findings. The entire process is highly adaptive: provision is made for agreement re-negotiations at five-year intervals, under the direction of the oversight board and in accordance with a board charter.
Solution
In terms of protecting biodiversity, the goal of OneReefƒ??s model is to remove/minimize local threats and adaptively manage for the ultimate threat of climate change. Interventions are focused on eliminating local threats associated with over-exploitation of organisms, loss of critical nursery habitat, and anthropogenic sediment flows. In combination with adaptive management, removal of local threats dramatically reduces the probability that reefs dominated by hard corals and associated species richness will undergo an ecological phase shift to a new steady state system dominated by a small number of species. To avoid such a shift is to avoid massive local extinction of organisms that closely associate with hard coral communities. We also pay close attention to at-risk species that are easily harvested/poached and reproduce slowly, e.g., tridacna or giant clam species. Other species, such as sharks, are also important, not only to maintenance of species richness, but to top-down forcing in ecosystems. Likewise, we assess risk and intervene accordingly with other species such as marine turtles and birds that nest at our sites. Maintaining species richness is completely consistent with sustainable fishery management, as the diversity is required to maintain a robust system that is much more likely to adapt to new climatic regimes. Diverse and abundant herbivorous fishes, often targeted by local fishers in Micronesia, are closely managed not only for sustainability, but also because they help reefs recover from coral bleaching episodes. // Approximately 2,200 km2 note: estimate includes deep ocean, coral reef, seagrass, and mangrove habitats
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 3 years // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? Yes // Employed community members and their/our local partners conduct on-site management. Key managed activities include surveillance/enforcement, community outreach, and annual or bi-annual ecological monitoring. The key management mechanism includes a check and balance system involving OneReef, The Micronesia Conservation Trust (MCT), and abovementioned community/local partner entities. We require bi-annual audits that are reviewed along with monitoring data and enforcement logbooks by the oversight board, OneReef and the MCT. Finally, OneReef conducts periodic site visits. Audit and review processes send a “signal†to coral reef investors, which is an important management and development mechanism. At agreement signing, OneReef commits to using its funds to finance the first several years. During this trial period, OneReef and its partners assume responsibility for capitalizing an investment vehicle that will be used to finance subsequent years of the agreement. There is a direct relationship between the rate of fund capitalization and verifiable community performance under the agreement. Over time, as the community performs and demonstrates its commitment, a growing pool of coral reef investors who receive the performance signal make funds available. The stream of investor funds is used to create a portfolio of financing sources. The level of accumulated capital reflects investor confidence in at any point in the development of an agreement. Eventually, pending sustained performance, a set of secure funds is created to support agreements for many decades.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
OneReef’s model results in direct community benefits: 1. Jobs: community members are employed as conservation enforcement officers, managers, monitors, and community engagers, 2. Training/capacity development: we invest heavily in building the capacity necessary to abovementioned jobs, 3. Resilient reefs: well-managed reefs that are free of unauthorized fishing sustainably produce a source of protein for the community. These benefits are particularly important to the poorest community members, 4. Natural heritage preservation: communities benefit when they pass on intact reefs to their descendants Local residents directly affected at our sites on Helen Reef Atoll, Ngulu Atoll, and Yap Island: about 8,000. // The community is directly involved in management and governance through several venues: 1. Through intensive engagement, the community drives the design of the agreement itself, including the spatial management plan and financing, 2. The agreement requires contingencies and rules, which are also developed through intensive community engagement, 3. Community members are trained and assume prominent roles ranging from enforcement to periodic communication, to ecological monitoring, 4. With assistance from OneReef, qualified community members tell the “story†of their project to potential venture partners, 5. Community leaders assume a prominent position on the agreement oversight board.