The Coral Champions
Indonesia

A Backgrounder

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By Dan Griffin
Robin Garthwait
www.StoryCats.com

Palau

Exceeding expectations by building slowly

This immersive story presents background material on how people around the Pacific are working to help coral reefs survive against the ocean warming of climate change.

The development of The Coral Champions Indonesia project begins with the collaboration between Indonesian-based OK OCE Foundation, Stanford University's Palumbi Lab, and StoryCats Consulting - an integrated local development projects (ILDP) firm.

This initiative centers on the creating and deploying scalable business models that support local training and job creation, specifically for implementing the Palumbi Coral Regeneration Method (PCRM).

Being able to test and identify strong, heat-resistant coral and use only these strong coral in reef renewal. Restoring reefs with the right coral, is similar to a farmer planting the right rice for their land and climate.

In the video, The Strong Corals Initiative we see the steps that can carry this project to success. Dr. Steve Palumbi, Professor of Marine Sciences, Oceans and Biology and his Stanford University research team have spent the past 15 years working to understand why some corals can withstand the heat of climate change better than others.

Video: Strong Coral Initiative in American Samoa and Palau

The Goal

A resilient reef

with micro-entrepreneur business models that scale

The adventure is on the horizon

The world has been warming at an alarming rate. Reef water temperatures are increasing much faster than the creatures can naturally adapt. The result is large scale reef bleaching events are becoming common.

There are numerous benefits of healthy reefs. In brief, reefs:
• protect the coastline,
• support the livelihoods and culture of local communities,
• fuel ecotourism,
• anchor thousands of species that rely on them for food and habitat,
• are the ocean's nurseries.

The proposed goal of The Coral Champions Indonesia project is to develop teams of people doing smart coral gardening. They will learn the signs of a healthy reef vs. one that is suffering from both climate and local human impacts. They will learn how to sample and test the corals in shore labs.

The teams of The Coral Champions Indonesia will help maintain the reef with transplants from their heat-resistant coral nurseries and work to mitigate the human impact elements of local runoff, trash, over-fishing and direct human damage to the reef. This nurturing will help the reef become more resilient and give it a chance to fight off the effects of climate change.

Staghorn coral and chromis fish in Palau.

The State of the Art

How we renew reefs

Collect coral samples.

Stanford University marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi samples coral in Palau.

Stress test the corals.

**Stanford University research coral stress test tanks in Palau.**

**Stanford University research coral stress test tanks in Palau.**

Stanford University research coral stress test tanks in Palau.

Identify the heat-resistant corals.

**Coral in salt water holding tanks at Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.**

**Coral in salt water holding tanks at Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.**

Stanford University marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi and Palau Community College students discuss prepping coral tissue for DNA sequencing at Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.

Stanford University marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi and Palau Community College students discuss prepping coral tissue for DNA sequencing at Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.

**Palau Community College student uses airbrush to remove tissue from coral skeleton for DNA analysis at Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.**

**Palau Community College student uses airbrush to remove tissue from coral skeleton for DNA analysis at Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.**

Palau Community College students examine coral tissue for DNA analysis at Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.

Palau Community College student uses airbrush to remove tissue from coral skeleton for DNA analysis at Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.

Nursery-grown coral are transported to reef in Palau.

Transplant nursery-grown heat-resistant coral into proper habitats.

**Stanford University researcher transports samples to coral research site in Palau.**

**Stanford University researcher transports samples to coral research site in Palau.**

**Stanford University marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi documents coral location and sample data on underwater slate in Palau.**

**Stanford University marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi documents coral location and sample data on underwater slate in Palau.**

Video: Heat-resistant coral transplant experiment in Palau.

Manage ongoing
testing,
smart gardening,
maintenance,
monitoring,
and protection.

**Lab and field technician from Palau International Coral Research Center returns from research dive in Palau.**

**Lab and field technician from Palau International Coral Research Center returns from research dive in Palau.**

Alignment: UN SDGs

Addresses the vast majority of United Nations Sustainability Goals
(SDGs)

Stanford University marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi documents tagged coral sample in Palau.

The Coral Champions Indonesia addresses the vast majority of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Reef Restoration and Renewal 2.0

Not all reef restoration is the same

Reef Restoration and Renewal 2.0

There is simply no way to look at a coral to determine if its a strong, heat-resistant specimen. It must be lab-tested for those qualities. Consider this to be the next generation of Reef Renewal and Restoration 2.0

At this time there are a significant number of reef projects going on around the world.

See highlights from a recent scientific study below. For the full study click here:

"Coral Restoration in Indonesia: A review of policies and projects

A large proportion of projects are categorized as artificial reefs (397, 66%), but do not report that any coral fragments have been transplanted onto the reef, or that the reef is being maintained in any way.

In the best-case scenario, these artificial reefs can act as fish-attracting devices by increasing structural complexity in the short-term [23], and act as settlement substrates for recruiting corals in the long-term [24].

However, when placed in sub-optimal locations (i.e. where no coral reef previously existed, or natural recruitment is low) these sites run the risk of being nothing more than underwater refuse heaps.

Staff member of the Marshall Islands Conservation Society collects coral samples for lab stress testing in Majuro, The Federation of the Marshall Islands.

Further, there appears to be an over-representation of records in the dataset that are categorized as coral nurseries (19% overall), while studies describing outplanting are much more scarce (5%) suggesting that these nursery racks are not an intermediate step towards outplanting corals, but rather a permanent structure.

Consistent monitoring and appraisal must be carried out to ensure that artificial reefs constructed in the name of coral restoration are functioning effectively, rather than as underwater structures that play no active role in regenerating coral populations.
Coral Restoration in Indonesia: A review of policies and projects [1]

If Indonesia is to move towards a coral restoration program that achieves measurable, ecologically meaningful outcomes on coral reefs at a nation-wide scale, it is imperative that objectives focus on holistic reef recovery rather than just numbers of corals grown in temporary or artificial nurseries.

Ecological metrics must be incorporated into each step of the lifecycle of restoration projects. Several recent publications can serve as guides to help achieve these goals: for example, by outlining high-level steps to improve coral restoration in general [16]; guide managers through the steps of planning restoration projects [19]; providing suggestions for monitoring [25]; and highlighting the importance of including social metrics in the planning and evaluation of restoration success [13], [26].^"[1]

The intention of The Coral Champions Indonesia is to work in conjunction with local communities, and, guided by rigorous science, to identify, re-grow and monitor coral reefs with heat-resistant local corals, utilizing the strengths of ecotourism where regionally advantageous.
Dr. Steve Palumbi, Stanford University

Grading chart identifies which corals are heat-resistant in Majuro, The Federation of the Marshall Islands.

"Indonesia’s coral reef restoration projects (1990–2020), aggregated by province. Circles are positioned at the geometric center of each province; their size is proportional to the number of restoration projects in that province [1]."

The Collaboration

Working together

Local, Regional and National

Stanford University marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi meets with multiple local government and conservation agencies to plan, set strategy, and acquire permits for heat-resistant coral project in Majuro, The Federation of the Marshall Islands.

Official Permissions

"Indonesia’s system for gaining official permission to conduct reef restoration is reflective of a community-driven approach. While many other countries with a large restoration footprint (like Australia and the USA) rely on centrally-governed permits that are administered at a national level,
Indonesia’s regulations are governed regionally. For example, Presidential Regulation No. 121/2012 states that proposals for restoration must be ‘consulted with the Regional Working Unit in charge of the marine and fisheries affairs at the rehabilitation location’ [Article 9.2], rather than going through a nationally centralized governing unit [1]."

Stanford University marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi meets with College of the Marshall Islands professor to discuss project connections to the school in Majuro, The Federation of the Marshall Islands.

Permit Requirements

"MMAF Ministerial Regulation No. 26/2021 also reflects this regional governance structure, dictating that plans for restoration ‘must be delivered and consulted with Government, Governor or Regent/Major at the rehabilitation location’ [Article 48.4]. The requirement to obtain permits for marine activities is not new in Indonesia - Law No. 32/2014 states that ‘Each person undertaking marine spatial use permanently in the waters and jurisdiction areas are obliged to own a location permit.’ [Article 47.1]. However, the most recent ministerial regulations released in 2021 have emphasized the need for permits - MMAF Ministerial Regulation No. 28/2021 repeats this sentiment that ‘Each person conducting marine spatial use activity on the coastal waters, waters area, and/or jurisdiction area permanently on some parts of marine space is obliged to have KKPRL [permit].’ [Article 113.1]. This renewed emphasis on permit requirements may be in response to a rapidly growing number of new restoration projects around the country in recent years (see 3.2 Summary of reef restoration projects in Indonesian waters (1990–2020), 3.3 Temporal trends in reef restoration practice within Indonesia) [1]."

Stanford University marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi explains how stress test tanks work with multiple local government and conservation agencies in Majuro, The Federation of the Marshall Islands.

Planning & Implementation

"In addition to having a regionally structured permitting system, Indonesia’s legislation specifically requires that local communities and stakeholders should be directly involved in both the planning and implementation of restoration activities. MMAF Ministerial Regulation No. 26/2021 states that restoration plans ‘must be consulted with related stakeholders around the rehabilitation location in order to receive inputs and responses’ [Article 48.3], in a system that echoes the broader rules laid out by the Ministry of Forestry (MoF) for all categories of ecosystem restoration (‘Implementation of ecosystem recovery is conducted by the management unit and/or can be conducted by permit holder after obtaining a permit from the Minister by involving the local community.’, MoF Ministerial Regulation No. 48/2014, Article 15.1). As such, Indonesia’s legislation around restoration decentralizes the governing responsibility to regional authorities rather than a national center, and encourages the participation of a diverse range of local communities and stakeholders [1]."

Stanford University researcher and marine biologist Dr. Steve Palumbi use GPS coordinates to locate tagged coral in Palau.

Palumbi Lab Coral Research Locations

Dr. Palumbi and his Stanford University research team work in a number of countries including:

• American Samoa, Ofu Island
• Belize
• Fiji
• Indonesia
• Maui, Hawaii, USA
• Micronesia
• Palau
• Taiwan
• The Republic of the Marshall Islands
• Tuvalu

Each location has a mixture of federal, state and/or regional laws, rules and required permits regarding doing scientific research, renewing and restoring reefs. In-depth opportunities and work is done with local communities and universities.

•

Palau

An example of what other nations are doing

Palau

Other countries are embracing the benefits of smart coral gardening.

Palau has a history of putting the health of its ocean first and is reaping the benefits. The country sees its reefs an important cultural and economic asset. Palau has put strict controls on fishing in its waters, and is finding that having more sharks and fish in the water bring in more dollars through tourism than with fish export.

The limiting of its catch also benefits traditional subsistence fishing and is helping villages maintain their traditional life and economies.

After years of coral reef study, research and testing, Palau is beginning what we believe will be a successful smart coral gardening phase of reef protection and renewal.
Dr. Steve Palumbi, Stanford University

Building a coral nursery in Palau

**The Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.**

**The Palau International Coral Research Center in Koror, Palau.**

Scaling

Creating
business models

Lets begin the conversation

The driver of this project is the people who rely on, use and can nurture the reef. It is a people-oriented science program that uses the right-scaled technology to let local communities build towards their own future.

Working with OK OCE, StoryCats, and others, The Coral Champions Indonesia is developing robust and functional business models that creates local jobs. These jobs will enable people to protect the reef and, importantly, help themselves and their neighbors secure their futures.

About Us

StoryCats Consulting focuses on integrated local development projects. We shepherd initiatives that contribute to a restored environment and thriving communities. By connecting people to shared opportunities and challenges, we spark conversation, drive change, and turn stories into action.

StoryCats Consulting is dedicated to developing long-term strategic initiatives, communications and outreach that tackle the world’s urgent environmental challenges. We are a beyond branding consulting firm, offering execution-based consulting.

Current project:
The Coral Champions Indonesia

StoryCats, in collaboration with Indonesia's OK OCE Foundation and Stanford University's Palumbi Lab, aims to transform groundbreaking scientific research into practical, grassroots, community-supporting jobs.

At the heart of this work is the creation and deployment of business models that support local training and local jobs focused on implementing the Palumbi Coral Regeneration Method (PCRM) - all done at scale.