The project expands and replicates successful models of community-based coral restoration in Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines with the long-term aim of reducing climate risks associated with coral reef loss. The project will use proven restoration techniques to propagate and outplant coral fragments (and micro-fragments) at scale at target sites in the two countries. Guided by geneticists, it will ensure that outplanted corals have the high genetic diversity to promote sexual reproduction and the dispersal of fertile eggs on surrounding reefs. The project will ensure that coral biodiversity (species richness and evenness) is enhanced at the restoration sites in the medium-term, while also assisting genetic adaptation processes on larger temporal and spatial scales. The coral cover may not significantly change within the time frame of the project but it is expected that long-term outcomes of sustained restoration efforts will be increased cover of stony, reef-building corals.
The Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) approach taken by CLEAR involves scaling up two existing coral restoration projects and establishing three new nurseries and restoration sites in the process. It is theorized that reefs’ ecological resilience will be strengthened by improving coral diversity through human-assisted interventions. St. Lucia’s practitioners will be working in the Soufriere Marine Management Area (SMMA), the island’s largest MPA, and with community members of Soufriere. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, interventions will be executed across four sites, Richmond Vale on the mainland, Mayreau, Union Island and Petit St. Vincent. The project facilitates communication between restoration practitioners in the two islands and develops partnerships with the private sector for the continued support of these initiatives beyond the time frame of the project. The expansion of existing sustainable financing is planned to ensure that coral restoration continues as a community-based activity beyond the life of the project.
