A two-day coral planting drive in Rakiraki has set an encouraging benchmark for community-led reef restoration in Fiji, with 1,080 new corals set on a single reef by a volunteer team of scientists, students, and local partners. The effort—coordinated over six months—brought together Professor Adam Blundell and his wife Mar, four University of Utah students from the United States, Aquaculture Development for the Environment (ADE) founders Walt and Deborah Smith, and a dedicated crew from Drauniivi Village.
The team initially aimed to plant 1,000 corals in two days and exceeded that target, underlining both the planning behind the mission and the value of hands-on fieldwork for the visiting students. ADE, which has already planted more than 1.4 million corals on degraded reefs across Fiji, says the next project—planned near Nadi next month—will be scaled up to build on the momentum from Rakiraki.
Beyond restoration, ADE’s model is designed to link conservation with livelihoods. The organisation previously partnered with Hideaway Resort to launch a guest-participation coral planting experience that won the International Ecotourism Award in 2007—an approach it continues to refine with villages near resorts so that visitors can directly support reef recovery while local communities benefit from new eco-tourism opportunities.
This latest success dovetails with a broader wave of marine conservation efforts underway across Fiji. In recent months, new sculptural coral gene banks have been installed at resorts such as Castaway Island and Vomo through the U.S.-based nonprofit Counting Coral, with strong backing from national leaders. These gene banks house 420 parent coral species—including rare and resilient “super corals”—that can be periodically fragmented to seed additional coral parks, accelerating restoration at scale. The initiative embodies solesolevaki—the Fijian spirit of collective action—by engaging communities and visitors in long-term reef care.
Fiji’s restoration push is also supported by national planning and science. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has advanced a National Action Plan for Coral Reef Conservation, while large-scale research expeditions led by National Geographic’s Pristine Seas and Blue Prosperity Fiji are surveying biodiversity from shallow reefs to the deep sea. These efforts inform the country’s ocean management goals, including the commitment to manage 100% of Fiji’s ocean space with 30% fully protected by 2030.
Why this matters
– Coral reefs are foundational to Fiji’s food security, coastal protection, and tourism economy. Planting corals and nurturing nurseries can help degraded reefs recover faster, especially when combined with protection, monitoring, and community stewardship.
– Linking restoration to eco-tourism creates practical incentives: guests help fund and participate in coral planting, while local villages earn income and build skills in marine management.
– Combining community action with science-based methods—such as selecting resilient parent corals and monitoring survival—improves long-term outcomes, particularly as reefs face warming seas and bleaching events.
Additional comments
– To sustain gains, projects can integrate post-planting monitoring, diversify coral species and genotypes, and align with nearby tabu or no-take zones so new corals have the best chance to mature.
– Building student and youth participation, as seen in the Rakiraki effort, strengthens local capacity and keeps the pipeline of trained reef stewards growing.
– As gene banks and guest-participation programs expand, creating clear visitor pathways—from learning sessions to hands-on planting—can amplify both education and funding for restoration.
Summary
A volunteer team led by Professor Adam Blundell, ADE founders Walt and Deborah Smith, University of Utah students, and Drauniivi villagers planted 1,080 corals on a Rakiraki reef in two days—surpassing their target and setting the stage for a larger project near Nadi next month. The work builds on ADE’s track record of more than 1.4 million corals planted nationwide and aligns with Fiji’s broader conservation momentum, including coral gene banks that propagate resilient corals and national plans to protect and manage ocean ecosystems. The result is a hopeful model where community stewardship, science, and eco-tourism reinforce one another to restore Fiji’s reefs and local livelihoods.
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