Coco Collection Steps Up Coral Conservation Efforts With Unique Collaboration
Wednesday 26th of April 2023
As part of its celebrations for Earth Day, Coco Collection announced an exciting collaboration with the University of Milano-Bicocca to further strengthen and support coral rehabilitation and conservation efforts across its properties in the Maldives. The University of Milano-Bicocca is ranked among one of the most prestigious universities in Italy and is globally renowned for its research-oriented approach.
Under this collaboration, Coco Collection will partner up with the university to bolster scientific teaching and increase work to protect the resorts’ delicate coral gardens and biodiversity through rehabilitation and conservation. Putting the collaboration into practice, Coco Bodu Hithi in the Maldives recently welcomed Dr. Simone Montana, the Assistant Professor at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Earth and Environmental Science (DISAT) and Vice Director of the university’s Marine Research and High Education Centre to the property.
During his visit, Dr. Simone delivered a presentation on the island, emphasizing the current health status of the coral gardens at Coco Bodu Hithi and highlighting Marine Biodiversity, Coral Reefs and Ecosystems during his address.
"All my activities are aimed at understanding the dynamics that will drive this ecosystem under a climate change scenario in order to develop and propose environmental management plans. Also, I wish to promote and strengthen scientific and teaching cooperation in the field of Biodiversity and Ecology, Climate Change and Ecosystem Health, Sustainable use of Marine Resources through the implementation of an internship program with Coco Collection,” remarked Dr. Simone.
Climate change is increasingly becoming life-threatening to the fragile coral ecosystems in the Maldives. The continuous fluctuations and progressive rise in ocean heat content worldwide continuously puts coral reefs at risk of coral bleaching events with past experiences known to cause devasting damage and loss to coral gardens across the island nation. Global scientists predict that an extreme El Niño may happen this year, which may cause mass coral bleaching events in the archipelago, signifying the need for resilient coral communities more than ever.
Preparing for this in advance, Coco Collection is taking further steps to proactively safeguard its house reef and Chiara Fumagalli, Sustainability Officer of Coco Collection believes this collaboration “is just the beginning of a long-term cooperation that can make Coco Collection a leader in corals rehabilitation and conservation”.
