Research

After founding the Maldives Coral Institute in 2019 in order to research and identify the status and measures for the continued survival of Maldivian coral reefs, a systematic review of present knowledge was undertaken. For this study, published research on Maldivian reefs were inventoried and a functional database was created to investigate preexisting research patterns regarding the changes underwent by Maldivian reefs, to provide resources for local researchers.

The first collection of literature was sourced through Google, Google Scholar and Web of Science through specific key terms. While 436 studies were found dated between 1835 and 2020, this is still foundational as research efforts were not consistent during this time. Though these studies were largely undertaken by foreign bodies, there is an uptick in research activity and understanding. Funding and access to atolls have hindered both foreign and national research in the past. Despite earlier focus on the growth, fauna and flora of reefs, future research one by the Maldives Coral Institute can be expected to be centered around conservation.

Furthermore, in this study, results of a year of data collection were split regionally based on Maldivian geography, which showed a decline of coral cover from the 1960s, with reefs recovering to varying degrees after 1998. Northern regions did not recover as quickly as central and southern regions. Data following the recent bleaching event in 2016 is unavailable, making it a further research goal to seek out more data within the Maldives to improve the reliability and resolution of these patterns. Through research, the Maldives Coral Institute seeks to utilize both global and home-grown talent to help conserve one of the great coral provinces of the world both for global enjoyment and the future of the Maldives.

As one of the most low-lying nations in the world, Maldives is also one of the most reliant on coral reefs. Coral reefs remain focal to the wellbeing of the country due to its dependence on reefs for both economic and natural reasons. Presently, developers must meet economic and populational demand for coastal development, as well as ensuring future survival with the increasing threat of climate change. However, such development must be undertaken with the goal of conserving the natural defences provided by coral reefs. The potentially irreversibly damaging impacts of infrastructural development on coral reefs must be kept minimal regardless of the type of development, be it coastal stabilization and erosion control, resort construction and maintenance, harbour construction and dredging of access channels, airport runway building or island building.

With optimal growth conditions for coral linked to various environmental factors, infrastructural development must avoid causing both direct and indirect damage to the wellbeing and survival of coral reefs, through the establishment of a mitigation hierarchy. This can be done through both planning of future construction and monitoring of ongoing development, while incorporating adaptive management. During planning stages, measures for both avoidance and minimization must be incorporated into the project design phase, as well as undertaking an initial risk assessment. It is vital to establish coral tolerance limits at this stage, for which purpose biological indicators may be helpful. Development should consider using environmental windows either on a daily or seasonal basis, to avoid sensitive periods such as coral spawning and thermal stress. Further measures include spatial minimization, as well as using specialized equipment for dredging and the use of green solutions or hybrid structures.

For unavoidable impacts, compensation mechanisms such as purpose-built structures can be used to achieve positive biodiversity outcomes. This can also include re-establishment of coral reef populations in either damaged or alternative areas. However, mitigation should be prioritized over minimizing development impacts. This will require constant monitoring and management both during and after construction of a project to ensure that productivity and environment protection are kept in balance.

Lastly, it vital that the interconnectivity of the marine environment is understood and taken into consideration in the planning, construction, and operation of developments. This consideration should focus on both the short-term and the long-term and must utilize best practice procedures. Such procedures need to be developed further in a Maldivian through targeted research, to conserve both the interests of the Maldivian people, and the natural wealth of the country.

This review looks at coral reef restoration in the context of Maldives and provides an overview of restoration projects spanning from 1990-2020. Since the 1980’s, coral reefs worldwide have experienced serious loss of coral, which has been driven by a number of both natural and manmade factors. However, in the last two decades, climate change has been identified as the overarching threat to coral reefs. Since the first recorded global mass-bleaching event in 1998, such events have increased in frequency and severity. Coral reef ecosystems have an inherent capacity for natural recovery and regeneration under favourable conditions, which has been documented in the past, although said recovery is reported to take at least a decade to several decades.

Unfortunately, given the increase in stressors for reefs, the available time for recovery is getting shorter.
With one of the world’s largest reef systems, Maldivian reefs provide vital sustenance and livelihoods for all its inhabitants. However, Maldivian reefs have also undergone periodic degradation and are under threat from various factors that can be linked to the growth of local population and economy. This review undertakes a national accounting of coral restoration efforts and provides an overview of local restoration methods, survival trends in restored reefs and existing limitations and knowledge gaps. The intent of this review is to provide a basis for further research with regard to developing more effective coral restoration practices in the Maldives, by using various sources of information including both grey literature and published peer-reviewed literature, the diversity of which meant that quantitative statistical analyses were not possible for this study.

Key issues in global coral restoration include lack of clear objectives, monitoring and reporting, poor project design and limitations in scaling up of projects. This can also be seen in this review, along with issues that are specific to Maldives such as the isolation of sample areas from local populations leading to lack of consideration of the whole ecosystem. There needs to be inclusion of environmental and ecological metrics to better assess restoration success as well as ecological processes in restored sites. Additionally, monitoring of social and economic outcomes are also necessary for assessing the outcomes of stated objectives, as well as the effects of restoration on reef-reliant communities. It is vital for projects to follow standardized monitoring methods to ensure reliability of data in the future. As such, further studies into development of coral gardening methods are warranted as only short-term success rates are presently available, and the reviewed projects do not account for naturally occurring spatial distributions and configurations of coral assemblages and communities. Future projects also need to be scaled up, with better connectivity and coordination between projects, to achieve wider-scale benefits. Lastly, it is vital to consider the importance of factoring in changes to the climate as well as the effects on and awareness of local communities that are reliant on reefs, in the process of finding innovative solutions to ensure the future of Maldivian coral reefs.

The following memo provides an overview of various legal frameworks relevant to coral reef protection, basics of identified conventions and agreements, certain soft law instruments as well as elucidation on best practices regarding the legalities of this matter. Some key issue areas that are covered by the discussed international conventions include maritime protections, the creation and listing of marine protected areas (MPAs) and other important sites, climate change and emissions, land-based sources of pollution, and the listing and protection of both threatened and endangered species of plants and animals.

Since agreements must be tailored to both conservation needs and political considerations of specific regions, eighteen marine regions have created marine management and protection frameworks which include actions plans, framework conventions, and area specific protocols; many of which are administered or observed by the UN Regional Seas Program. These agreements often oblige involved parties to take all respective measures to balance the needs of the environment and that of human beings as sustainably as possible. Additionally, many of these regions have developed frameworks and networks that allow for more cross-sectoral cooperation.

There are approximately eighty countries that are endowed with coral reefs, four of which will be examined by this memo. The domestic frameworks of these selected countries represent different aspects and strategies for coral protection. Examination of these frameworks sheds light on the role of complex regulatory systems and the need to facilitate the participation of actors from both interested sectors as well as local and traditional indigenous communities.

Key takeaways from the presented frameworks and scientific literature include: spelling out countries; obligations in detail as well as ranking their level of urgency where necessary, allocation of funds and identification of financial sources to ensure the success of stated objectives, creation of integrated networks that are inclusive of government, sectoral and local community parties to facilitate cooperation, development of public education and participation programs and involvement of local and indigenous communities at national levels to increase compliance and efficacy of conservation efforts, and practices regarding the creation of marine protected areas.