How Indonesian researchers are reversing the decline of coral reefs

Coral reefs are critically important for Indonesia. They provide coastal protection for over 18,000 islands across the archipelago and these natural barriers help to mitigate the impact of waves, storms and tsunamis, significantly reducing coastal erosion and preventing loss of land.  

The complex structure of coral reef provides essential habitats for marine life, fostering biodiversity and contributing to the productivity of these ecosystems. This, in turn, supports key sectors such as fisheries and tourism, enhancing food security and economic stability.  

Situated at the heart of the Coral Triangle, Indonesia plays a crucial role in sustaining complex food webs and ecological processes, making it a cornerstone of global marine conservation efforts. 

However, coral reef ecosystems are under severe threat, due to climate-change-related ocean warming and other human-induced activities such as overfishing, unsustainable fishing practices and habitat degradation. More than 85% of reefs within the Coral Triangle region are currently threatened by stressors, substantially higher than the global average. The degradation of coral reef ecosystems will impact millions of people who rely on their ecosystem services, not just in Indonesia but worldwide.  

This biodiversity hotspot provides crucial ecological connectivity to reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. This makes it imperative to implement smart solutions that address both global warming, driven by rising CO2, and local stressors. Finding out if coral reefs can adapt to these environments can also help communities adapt and become more resilient.  

Many efforts have been undertaken to enhance coral coverage and restore biodiversity through coral restoration projects, but these initiatives are expensive and rarely driven by the communities. Moreover, current management strategies mostly focus on reefs with less exposure to thermal stress, often overlooking the importance of biological and socio-economic adaptation. It is vital to develop adaptation strategies that are based on evidence and work well for protecting biodiversity and keeping fisheries sustainable. 

Researchers at universities in Makassar, Southeast Sulawesi, and Ambon, Maluku, are making a critical contribution through research and ecological surveys as part of a large-scale UK-Canada-funded research initiative, Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE). The CLARE initiative enables socially inclusive and sustainable action to build resilience to climate change and natural hazards in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. The Climate REEFS project is an international research partnership that aims to stop the coral bleaching and loss of coral reef diversity in Indonesia and the Philippines. 

Climate REEFS brings together the sciences of not only ecology and genomics, but also remote sensing, socio-economics and decision science to support communities that rely on the reefs. It combines satellite data of specific sites, with detailed ocean survey data to monitor and map reef health, and socio-economic surveys to understand impact on local communities. 

So far, two research teams have surveyed a sample of reefs on the coasts of Southeast Sulawesi and Ambon-Lease Islands. Divers collect samples of specified coral species, at about 5-10 metres of depth, which are prepared for molecular analysis. Divers also survey various parts of the ocean environment and assess its level of diversity. Divers visually inspect the coral conditions, scoring them on scores 1 to 6 of bleaching, and analyze environmental DNA of water samples. Others record the fishes, algae, benthic and macro-invertebrates living in the coral environment, both in terms of numbers and diversity.

Over the last six weeks, the research team in Southeast Sulawesi and Maluku has collected specimens of coral species, thousands of photographs, and identified and sized thousands of fish. A few of the coral species were sent for full genomic sequencing; because of the high cost, only a limited number of coral species can be sent for sequencing. It is the first time in ocean science that multiple species are sequenced and combined with other data at the same sites.

The findings will help to identify adaptive reefs to improve marine spatial planning, policy and governance. Scientists and policymakers can prioritize conservation efforts, potentially safeguarding key ecosystems. The integrative approach combines advanced technology with on-the-ground research, paving the way for more effective marine conservation strategies and potentially reversing the decline of reefs.

This detailed ocean survey work and ecological and genomic analysis is one aspect of the Climate REEFS approach. The health of coral reefs directly impacts the fish population, on which large numbers of people in coastal communities depend. Socio-economic surveys will be carried out near the selected ecological sites to understand the dependence on fish, including the social and gender differences in livelihoods in these communities, and, importantly, their climate change vulnerability that comes from declining reef health and diversity.

This knowledge and ecological insight will prepare stakeholders and coastal communities to locally lead coral conservation efforts and adapt to the ongoing impacts of climate change.

Climate REEFS is a research partnership, a collaboration between the universities of Leeds, Pattimura, Hasanuddin and the Philippines, and the NGOs Rare, the Coral Reef Alliance, and the Coral Triangle Center. The collaboration in this project represents a fusion of expertise and resources spanning diverse regions and fields, with an emphasis on locally led adaptation measures. The project also creates opportunities for young researchers, fostering collaborative research to promote cross-border partnerships and knowledge exchange.

Such a global partnership supports local universities, particularly in places where adaptation challenges, such as for Indonesia’s eastern islands, are most severe and capacities to address these are least available. This exchange not only enriches the evidence but also strengthens regional scientific networks that are essential for the ongoing preservation and management of biodiversity hotspots. 

This article first appeared in The Jakarta Post.