United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
This page details the UN Sustainable Development Goals being addressed by the SeaTrees project on Nusa Penida Island in Bali, Indonesia.
Sustainable Development in Bali
Tourism is one of the main economic pillars in Bali, but there is potential for negative impacts on the local environment. The coral reefs of Nusa Penida Island have been damaged by tourist pontoon boat anchors, which drag along the coral bed under high currents. This flattens and destroys live coral reefs.
Working with Balinese nonprofit Ocean Gardener, this project employs a team of local fisher-people and divers to restore the degraded coral reefs of Nusa Penida Island and educate the local community on best practices to protect the reefs moving forward.
Creating Sustainable Benefits
This project provides living-wage employment and training opportunities for the local community, empowers gender equity, protects the area from increased climate change impacts, and safeguards critical habitats for several vulnerable species. This in turn drives all of the other Sustainable Development benefits produced by the project.
Key Impact Metrics
- Every 1000 corals planted creates approximately one week of employment.
- 36 local Indonesians are provided with employment - at a time when the pandemic had devastated Bali’s tourism-based economy
-12+ families supported
- Habitat created for 500+ marine species
Sustainable Development Goals addressed by the project
SeaTrees evaluates this project annually to measure its impact on all relevant Sustainable Development Goals.
This project supports a group of young men in the village of Ped, on Nusa Penida Island in Indonesia. Most come from families of fishermen born on the same island. Thanks to the SeaTrees coral restoration project the team now has the opportunity to get paid to help restore the reefs! We can already start seeing the corals bring more fish life back to the reef. With this project in place we’ve also been able to training more Indonesians and foreigners about corals restoration techniques and the importance of protecting the reef.
The Bali, Indonesia project addresses five SDGs. Read below for more details.
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
The families and communities on Bali have always depended on the local marine ecosystem for income and survival. Over the last few years, the pandemic devastated Bali’s tourism-based economy leaving many local communities out of work.
In partnership with Ocean Gardener, this project has supported 12 families and created 20+ paid jobs and training opportunities for local villagers, allowing for an increase in stable income in the region and potential for future expansion as locals are trained to monitor the site moving forward.
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
The tourism industry makes up over 50% of the economy in Bali, providing jobs to the local community that rely on healthy coral reefs. In order for this industry to remain viable long-term, the degraded coral reefs need to be restored.
SeaTrees’ project partner, Ocean Gardener, employs 36 local fishermen and divers to restore and protect the coral reefs off of Nusa Penida. Ocean Gardener trains divers and fishermen on best practices for coral protection while also educating them on the biology of corals and their importance for fish populations and coastal protection.
The region will receive additional economic support as divers and tourists may now visit the area and participate in the coral planting program which the local community is employed to instruct.
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Ocean Gardener is a world leader in scalable and sustainable coral restoration techniques. Building on 20+ years of commercial coral farming experience, the Ocean Gardener team grows coral to replant and restore the damaged coral reefs off of Nusa Penida.
Ocean Gardener uses rope lines made from organic materials, rather than traditional metal or concrete, to grow a variety of coral fragments until they are ready to be placed on the ocean floor.
This method enables Ocean Gardener to grow coral at scale while avoiding any negative impacts on the ecosystem. Ocean Gardener then monitors the coral fragments using GoPros, which have the potential to contribute to future coral restoration research.
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Coral reefs in the Crystal Bay and Ped regions of Nusa Penida, Bali have been historically destroyed by human activities and climate change. With the help of local Balinese fishermen and Ocean Gardner, coral restoration begins with growing fragments in the shallow waters of the Ped Acropora Coral Nursery. Once the fragments grow large enough they are transplanted onto the reef, allowing it to grow and rebuild so marine life can return to the area.
In 2021, 6,000 fragments of coral were planted. In May 2022 we began the process of planting an estimated 6,000 coral fragments for the remainder of this year.
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development
Over the last 30 years, roughly 50% of the world’s coral reefs have been lost, and more than 60% of the remaining reefs are threatened by human activity. Indonesia is the largest area of vulnerability and the coral reefs in Bali have faced growing destruction due to the tourism industry.
Ocean Gardener directly restores and protects over 20 different coral species off of the island of Nusa Penida in Bali, Indonesia. The restored coral reef will provide habitat for more than 500 species of fish, many of which are currently considered vulnerable to extinction.
To read about the UN Sustainable Development Goals in detail please reference this link.
