Abstract Summary
Colombia’s largest coral rehabilitation project is currently taking place in the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, Colombia. This Archipelago, a pluri-ethnic territory, is part of the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve and comprises an MPA with the same name. The Archipelago’s predominant income comes from tourism, having almost a million visitors each year, attracted mainly by the white beaches, the clear and warm waters and the vibrant and colorful underwater life. The coral reef ecosystem highly supports the economy, food security and wellbeing of the islands and has experienced severe degradation over the last decades due to anthropogenic impacts. As a response, the first large-scale reef restoration program following the coral gardening concept is being implemented by a group of governmental and non-governmental organizations. Project’s main objective is to intervene selected degraded reef areas to accelerate natural recovery and enhance adaptation to climate change. Additionally, it intends to achieve great social impact by engaging the local community in the decision-making process, building capacity among local leaders and developing a business model that will provide for alternative likelihoods for community members. As for community involvement in decision-making, a program will be carried out with relevant social actors in which a number of workshops and south-south exchanges will result in the selection of the intervention sites and the development of a management plan for the designated rehabilitation areas. This will include managing solutions regarding protection, threat mitigation, law enforcement, research and education. For this, a Conservation Coach will mediate the process using the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, a tool for conservation project planning and executing. We expect a cross-sector participation so the interests of the overall community are metand the intervened area is effectively rehabilitated.
