Coral Garden Restoration Project Initiated At Paradise Island Resort

Wednesday 12th of October 2022

Described as the rainforests of the ocean, coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse and important ecosystems on Earth. The vibrant gardens of the sea are teeming with a plethora of marine life including 4000 species of fish and other marine organisms. While this beautiful realm attracts many visitors, it is increasingly becoming very vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and global warming.

As ocean temperatures continue to rise, the threat to coral reefs increment along with it resulting in large-scale bleaching events. Climate change combined with anthropological factors like overfishing and habitat destruction poses detrimental effects to the existence of coral reefs.

With many resorts coming together to conserve the coral reefs, Paradise Island Resort has joined in the efforts by initiating the Coral Garden Restoration Project. As part of the resort’s pledge to prioritize ocean conservation, diveOceanus has begun this green initiative with Manager Hussain Saanim and Assistant Manager Mohamed Arzan taking the reins. They are supported by Marine Scientist and Consultant for Villa Hotels & Resorts, Azim Musthag.

Under this project, the diveOceanus team initially conducted an extensive survey of the Paradise Island lagoon to assess the health conditions of the coral reef. The findings proved to be fruitful with a substantial amount of healthy coral reef surviving the global warming and bleaching events. During the survey, the team also collected numerous broken coral fragments and planted them in intricately curated coral nurseries in the lagoon beside the Italian Restaurant, Furamathi.

Here the team will nurture and reproduce the resilient coral fragments before planting them on designated coral frames in the house reef. Through these means, the project will be able to propagate healthier coral, resilient to ocean temperatures, consequently paving way for a more robust house reef.

The programme was initiated in the month of September in line with compulsory regulations from the government and Fisheries Ministry. In this way, the corals will be better equipped to combat the hottest months of the year (December through March) when ocean temperatures rise comparatively. It will also lessen the burden of the main reef giving it time to revive while marine organisms colonize the new frames.

In the future, the diveOceanus plans to introduce such initiatives in the other villa resorts and hopes to engage local communities and schools as well, creating awareness among the younger generation through education.