World Bank: Rehabilitating Indonesia’s Coral Reefs for People’s Welfare
Coremap, a project supported by the World Bank, aims to revive Indonesia’s coral reefs in an effort to improve the welfare of coastal communities in Indonesia. By rehabilitating coral reefs, the country’s fish population, vital to the livelihoods of local communities, can expand. Moreover, the rehabilitation of coral reefs entails better opportunities in the (eco)tourism sector as it will attract underwater tourism. As such, new small businesses can be established in the coastal areas.
Coremap, which is active in 358 coastal communities across Indonesia, aims to improve coral reef rehabilitation by establishing fishing and protection zones, empowering fishermen to monitor the coral reefs, and raising community awareness. The projects main beneficiaries are families that are highly dependent on small-scale reef fishing for their livelihood. These earnings have been declining due to the negative impact of their fishing techniques. Many local Indonesian fishers use destructive and illegal fishing methods, including cyanide and explosives, to increase fish catches. However, this has a devastating effect on coral reefs and thus jeopardizes future fish populations.
Fostering the coral reefs has also opened up new (small) businesses in local economies due to the higher number of tourists that visit. Such new businesses include handicraft, souvenirs and culinary businesses.
Further Reading:
• Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Project II
• Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program- Coral Triangle Initiative (COREMAP-CTI)
