Reef Resilience Network releases restoration guide
by NOAA Fisheries 24 Oct 2020 20:56 UTC
Yellow tang school around a reef in Hawaii © NOAA Fisheries / Paula Ayotte
The Manager's Guide to Coral Reef Restoration Planning and Design supports the needs of reef managers seeking to begin restoration or assess their current restoration program.
Based on global best practices—and tested with managers from Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands—the Guide was developed for reef managers and practitioners, and anyone who plans, implements, and monitors restoration activities.
As managers embark on restoration activities to combat reef degradation and enhance resilience, careful planning is required to improve the chances that restoration will be successful. Effective planning includes working with local experts, stakeholders, and decision-makers to determine how, when, and where restoration will be conducted, and how it can complement existing coral reef conservation and management strategies.
Together with a suite of tools and templates, the Guide maps out a six-step, iterative process to help users gather relevant data, ask critical questions, and have important conversations about restoration in their location. Use of the Guide culminates in the creation of a Restoration Action Plan to enhance reef resilience and recovery.
Development of this Guide was made possible through financial support from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program and NOAA Restoration Center, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development, and The Nature Conservancy's Reef Resilience Network.