Conservation seagrass ecosystems – safeguarding food security and resilience in vulnerable coastal communities
Seagrass is an essential food source for dugongs and other marine wildlife and provides key ecosystem services (e.g. fisheries productivity and carbon sequestration). Seagrass ecosystems are declining globally due to pressure from coastal development, fishing and boating, pollution and climate change. Information on the status of seagrass ecosystems and the services that they provide is lacking. The project contributes to reducing these knowledge gaps by engaging local NGOs and communities in the conservation of seagrass. NGOs are trained in participatory science to enable them to collect data and identify key seagrass areas. This information is then used to engage communities and decision makers in developing policies for seagrass conservation. In parallel, the project implements alternative business models in coastal communities to improve livelihoods and contribute funds for seagrass conservation. This enhances the sustainability of seagrass ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific.
- Countries
- Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, India
- IKI funding
- 5,280,000.00 €
- Duration
- 01/2019 till 04/2026
- Status
- open
- Implementing organisation
- Secretariat of Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) - Abu Dhabi
- Political Partner
-
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) - Philippines
- Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment - Timor Leste
- Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries - Indonesia
- Phuket Marine Biological Centre - Thailand
- Sea Turtle and Marine Endangered Species Research Centre - Malaysia
- Implementing Partner
-
- Blue Ventures
- Marine Research Foundation MARECET
State of implementation/results
- Science:
- National Partners Workshop:
- A workshop was held in Bogor, Indonesia, from August 28th to September 2nd provided training in blue carbon assessment, dugong surveys, and participatory video.
- WISDAM App and Drones:
- The WISDAM app will be used to process and map dugong sightings based on surveys designed through meetings with each partner and using Mavic Air 2 drones.
- Seagrass Mapping:
- Seagrass mapping is ongoing and baited remote underwater video (BRUVs) data is under analysis.
- Thailand:
- March 2023 - National Partner SAN participated in meetings for a national agenda on dugong conservation Phase II.
- Indonesia:
- National Partner YAPEKA engaged in a national-level discussion to develop frameworks for Blue Carbon and NDC policies.
- YAKEPA is also member of the "Blue Carbon Ecosystem Management into Indonesia's Biodiversity and Climate Policies" consultation group.
- Philippines:
- National partner C3 is continuously coordinating with local communities and Local Government Units, particularly the Municipal Agriculture Office to obtain updates on the status of the Municipal Integrated Coastal Resource and Fisheries Management Plan.
- Timor Leste:
- May and June 2023: national Partner Blue Ventures attended MOU signing events to establish support for locally-led coastal management initiatives.
- These initiatives include the use of Tara Bandu, a Timorese customary law that empowers communities to manage land and resources, including seagrass meadows.
- Blue Ventures organized a learning exchange attended by eight communities interested in developing an LMMA in the future.
- Malaysia:
- July 2023: National Partner MareCet held meeting with the Department of Fisheries for the Johor dugong sanctuary gazettement.
- Indonesia (Tarabitan):
- Spirulina farm construction is underway in Yogyakarta, which will serve as a smaller production and marketing point for products from Tarabitan.
- A Website for their ecotourism business model is being developed in North Minahasa.
- Thailand (Koh Mook Group):
- The Group launched marketing videos on social media to promote their eco-tour programs and support the Teach for Thailand program.
- SAN collaborated with Suan Dusit University to develop a tour guide license course and provided training.
- Timor Leste (Blue Ventures):
- June 2023: Attended a blue carbon learning exchange in Madagascar where they presented project progress and ran a Seagrass-Watch monitoring session.
- Malaysia (MareCet):
- July 2023: A dugong and seagrass component was added to the Whales On-The-Wheels mobile education nationwide tour, a MareCet’s outreach event. The event reached 5041 attendees across four states.
- Information on the IKI compliant mechanism is now live on the project website the Dugong and Seagrass Hub (www.dugongseagrass.org).
- Dedicated social media were created in support of the website on Twitter (twitter.com/…), Instagram (www.instagram.com/…) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/…).
Latest Update:
12/2024
Project relations
Legend:
The link has been copied to the clipboard
