In the Caribbean, divers restore coral reefs in the aftermath of hurricanes

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16 décembre, 2024
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A scuba diver in full gear works to restore coral reefs underwater, surrounded by marine plants and clear blue water.
When a hurricane strikes, it’s not only human communities and settlements that are affected—natural ecosystems can also face severe damage. Photo: Martin Leglize

As the impacts of climate change ramp up, the hurricane season in the Caribbean is getting more intense and unpredictable, often with devastating consequences. But when a hurricane hits, it’s not just human communities and settlements that are damaged. Natural ecosystems can also suffer grievous consequences.

For countries in the region, it is important to increase resilience and be prepared to act in the aftermath of a hurricane to save lives, infrastructure and ecosystems. To protect coral reefs from the impacts of hurricanes, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and Mexico have established repair teams to dive down to clear debris from coral reefs as soon as it is safe.

These teams recover coral fragments buried under the sediment by strong storm currents. They also remove the litter and solid waste that has been washed into the reef.  All of this must happen within two weeks of a hurricane's impact to avoid permanent damage to the coral ecosystem.    

But why go to such lengths for coral reefs? Because these ecosystems are far more than just beautiful underwater landscapes. They are natural barriers that sustain marine biodiversity and protect coastal communities from storm surges and erosion, absorbing the energy of waves and reducing the impact of hurricanes. 

Beyond their ecological role, coral reefs are a cornerstone of tourism in the Caribbean, attracting divers, snorkelers, and nature enthusiasts from around the world. They also ensure plentiful fish stocks that support local fisheries and provide food for families. As such, their health is directly tied to the well-being of coastal communities, from economic livelihoods to food security.    

A group of scuba divers work underwater to restore coral reefs, surrounded by clear blue water and marine life.
After a hurricane, early action to clean up the reef and jump-start coral regeneration and recovery is critical to reducing the impact of lost ecosystem services, including coastal protection. Photo: Martin Leglize
Protecting coral reefs with innovative insurance solutions

To support these vital restoration efforts, the Mesoamerican Reef Fund (MAR Fund) has introduced a groundbreaking solution: parametric insurance for coral reefs. This innovative mechanism provides funding for rapid response activities after hurricanes, ensuring that divers and response brigades have the resources they need to act quickly.  

The organization and their partners procure insurance coverage for emergency reef response at 11 reef sites in the Mesoamerican Reef region and train emergency response divers.    

According to MAR Fund, between 2022 and 2023, more than 365,000 people in Honduras benefitted from immediate post-hurricane coastal protection, including the removal of debris, re-attachment of damaged corals and coral re-planting, while 39 responders were trained and certified for repairing hurricane reef damage. These efforts have had a significant social impact by involving local communities and authorities in disaster preparedness and response. They have also highlighted the transformative impact of community-driven action in building resilience to climate challenges.

Insurance mechanisms to protect reefs and marine ecosystems are extremely rare in the world. According to Claudia Ruiz, the coordinator of the Mesoamerican Reef Rescue Initiative, a key innovation of MAR Fund’s approach was to consolidate insurance coverage for multiple sites to help reduce the cost of premiums. The insurance coverage includes stipends to reimburse the reef divers for their time and expertise. This approach not only makes premiums more affordable but also demonstrates how similar insurance schemes could be used to protect other natural assets like mangroves or forests.

Two scuba divers work underwater to restore coral reefs, using tools to secure coral fragments in a marine conservation effort.
Part of the art of reef repair is identifying and retrieving broken coral fragments that are still alive and re-attaching them. Photos: Martin Leglize
A close-up of hands carefully securing a coral fragment onto a reef structure underwater as part of a marine restoration effort.
Brigade members reattach broken coral fragments using cement as an environmentally-friendly agent. Photo: Huitron Baca

Two of the sites that MAR Fund covers were insured using a grant from the UNDP-implemented Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA). A portion of that grant was also used to train the diver brigade members. While most are seasoned divers, highly experienced in navigating Caribbean reefs, the art of reef repair is new to them. One of the things they learned was to identify and retrieve the broken coral fragments that are still alive.  

“What they do is reattach broken fragments to other fragments or to other parts of the coral that are still alive and steady. That is called stabilization; they stabilize the fragments scattered around the reef,” Ruiz explains. She adds that the brigade members learn to reattach the fragments using cement as an environmentally-friendly agent. Where it is not possible to reattach living coral tissue, they move the fragments to nurseries.  

It is important to have at least one nursery near the reef for these fragments. The best thing to do is to nurture them in situ, where they belong, to avoid genetic or other changes. But it is also possible to take them out of the ocean and into a laboratory to recover. If a storm is too strong, entire crests of reef can be flipped out in a surge. When this happens, divers can’t place the crest in the nursery, but they must try to stabilize it and reattach it to the sediment. 

During the training, the divers also learned how to monitor the health of the reef in general. A specialized team within each brigade is responsible for this task so that the coral ecosystems are also proactively protected between storms. Upon completing their training, brigade members earn diplomas that enable them to offer reef repair expertise beyond this particular MAR Fund initiative.   

A group of scuba divers and conservation volunteers sit together on a boat, preparing for reef restoration work in Honduras.
MAR Fund also adopted a train-the-trainer approach to sustain skilled brigades. Photo: Martin Leglize
Commitment to environmental conservation

Ruiz says people who volunteer to join the reef response brigades have a shared commitment to environmental conservation. Some work as tour operators or diving instructors when they are not repairing reefs, while others are simply concerned community members, government officials or practitioners working in the NGO sector.  

Cettina Cantu is a tour operator and diving instructor who also now works as a reef response brigadier in Mexico. “As brigadists in response to damages after a hurricane, we have a protocol to make an assessment of the reef; of the areas that are more damaged. From there we determine which areas need prompt help and give the support that is needed,” she said in an interview with MAR Fund.    

Because many brigade members have other duties and can’t stay in one place for extended periods, MAR Fund also adopted a train-the-trainer approach to sustain skilled brigades. These trainers are equipped to provide shorter, intensive courses to ensure a rapid response when a storm event is imminent. This system has created a resilient network of skilled people prepared to act when the reefs—and the communities that depend on them—are most vulnerable.    

Because of climate change, storms are becoming ever more frequent and severe. This threatens the nearly US$6.2 billion in ecosystem benefits that coral reefs provide the Caribbean region.  

“A strong coral reef and a healthy coral reef, is an important aspect to protecting the coastal areas of our islands in the Caribbean from storm surges and the effects of a hurricane and other rain events,” said Karen McDonald Gayle, the CEO of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund.  

The work of MAR Fund goes beyond the Mesoamerican Reef region. Their training and experience are not only crucial for this region but for other areas with coral reefs facing similar threats as well. Some hazard data could also be used globally to address other disasters and ecosystems. Furthermore, their innovative approach to insurance serves as a blueprint for global resilience, offering a replicable model to inspire similar efforts elsewhere. 

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These stories have been co-created with support from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), UNDP and MARFund in the framework of the UNDP-managed Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator programme (UNDP-AFCIA).

Supported by financial contributions from the Adaptation Fund and the European Union, the UNDP-AFCIA programme has awarded 44 micro and small grants to locally led organizations across 33 countries worldwide, accelerating their innovative solutions to build resilience in the most vulnerable communities.

UNDP-AFCIA is one of two featured programmes under the Adaptation Innovation Marketplace (AIM), a multi-stakeholder strategic platform that promotes scaled-up adaptation at the local level.