This part of the Original environment rehabilitation manual focuses on the repair of damaged reefs. The document is composed of a summary of the field techniques of The Reef Ball Foundation, as decribed in their Draftguide. The document also includes information from other sources (eg the Practical Action document on how to build an artificial reef.
The Reef Ball foundation is an international environmental NGO with over 12 years of experience and over 3,500 projects worldwide. Techniques presented focus on efficient and rapid propagation of coral while minimizing underwater effort. Using a properly trained Coral Team of experts and volunteers with only 5 divers, it is possible to rescue, propagate and plant 500 coral colonies a day, with supplies costing less than a dollar per coral colony.
This manual presents methods of coral reef rehabilitation that aim to recover lost protective void space using prefabricated artificial reef modules and/or natural substrates combined with the planting of propagated or rescued corals. A novel approach is presented of preparing the base substrate with indentations to accept standardized coral propagation plugs. The combination of providing base reef structure with planted coral speeds up the re-establishment of a natural reef. By sharing these techniques with managers, stakeholders, and grassroots coral reef rehabilitation groups around the world, The Reef Ball Foundation can better accomplish the goal of transferring global technologies and techniques to the local level and facilitating continued rehabilitation efforts.
