Coral Mission Foundation - a Polish idea for the restoration of coral reefs

The Coral Mission Foundation is a foundation set up in the Maldives by Pole Maria Sotek to protect and restore coral reefs.

Maria’s motto is “it’s time to give and not just take” and it seems to fit perfectly with the situation she faced in the Maldives. The main purpose of the Coral Mission Foundation is to conduct research, lectures and work to establish coral nurseries. This is what makes it possible to rebuild damaged reefs.

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The first such nursery has already been set up on the beautiful island of Dhigurah and was entirely funded by private donations. On this picturesque island, at a depth of 10 metres, divers from the foundation have sunk a special square-shaped stand. Between its walls stretched ropes to which small pieces of coral collected from the surrounding reefs were attached. Of course, no coral was damaged in the process, only broken coral lying on the bottom was collected. This will be a chance for them to become the building blocks for new, healthy and strong pieces of reef.

The probationary period at the nursery is six months. During this time, a site supervisor is on site to oversee everything and regularly check the condition of the colony. If necessary, he intervenes and makes sure to regularly clean the corals of algae that could lead to the death of the coral.

How are corals grown?

The key issue is to find a suitable donor. In this case, much depends on the size of the coral itself. If it is a rather large piece, it is split into slightly smaller ones. After obtaining fragments of the desired size of about 5-10 cm, we can proceed. After proper preparation, the piece is hung on a line. Of course there are other ways to deal with larger broken corals, but we will focus on them in the next text on breeding and propagation of corals.

The objectives of the foundation:

1. Breeding of corals for the restoration of damaged local reefs
2. Coral Planting – as an additional source of income for local people. Tourists can inoculate their coral themselves and will then receive information about it throughout the growing period. All this for a set fee
3. Spreading awareness of the importance of coral reefs among local people and tourists

Why was the foundation established and what are its aims? Well, the main reason for the foundation is to save coral reefs. There are countless reefs around practically every island in the Maldives. But now is a difficult time for them and without the right support they could suffer serious damage and many of them could cease to exist.

The Maldives, due to its location, is a mecca for tourists from all over the world. Consequently, tourism is the main source of livelihood for Maldivians. However, this success has also come at a price. The politicians in power have made poor decisions when it comes to making the islands available for rent for new resorts. As a result, we may face a situation where more reefs simply disappear.

Problem

Until recently, everything was done in a rather controversial way. When a suitable island or sandbank was found, it was leased to resort owners. However, the number of such places was limited in advance. Now we are at the point where such places are slowly beginning to run out. Therefore, in order to meet the growing demand, the government has decided to lease out shallow coral reefs.

The tenant is free to create a new island for himself, burying hundreds of square metres of coral reefs. All this happens without any protection or supervision, which of course has consequences for the local ecosystem.

This is the platform on which the foundation Coral Mission Foundation The aim is simple – end the filling in of the lagoons. The aim is simple – no more filling in of the shallows. The new tenant would be required to relocate part of the reef and plant it in a new location. Obviously bearing all the costs involved. Will this work? Time will tell. The Foundation also has a plan B. If the demands described above are not implemented, it wants to be able to harvest as much coral as possible as part of its statutory activities.

Coral Mission Foundation has been registered in Poland and is currently in the process of being registered in the Maldives. It is also worth mentioning that the foundation has received official support from the government and the Ministry of Tourism.