Coral Reef Restoration Toolkit: A Field-Oriented Guide Developed in the Seychelles Islands

Abstract

Coral reef restoration is a subfield within the larger scientific discipline of ecological restoration (also known as restoration ecology). Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed (SER, 2018).Coral reef restoration must follow the four basic principles of planning and implementation of ecological restoration in order to increase sustainable and valuable outcomes (Suding et al. 2015):1. Restoration increases ecological integrity. Restoration initiates or accelerates recovery of degraded areas by prioritizing the complexity of biological assemblages, including species composition and representation of all functional groups, as well as the features and processes needed to sustain these biota and to support ecosystem function;2. Restoration is sustainable in the long term. Restoration aims to establish systems that are self-sustaining and resilient; thus, they must be consistent with their environmental context and landscape setting. Once a restoration project is complete, the goal should be to minimize human intervention over the long term. When intervention is required, it should be to simulate natural processes that the landscape no longer provides or to support traditional practices of local communities;3. Restoration is informed by the past and future. Historical knowledge, in its many forms, can indicate how ecosystems functioned in the past and can provide references for identifying potential future trajectories and measuring functional and compositional success of projects. However, the unprecedented pace and spatial extent of anthropogenic changes in the present era can create conditions that depart strongly from historical trends. Often,then, history serves less as a template and more as a guide for determining appropriate restoration goals;4. Restoration benefits and engages society. Restoration focuses on recovering biodiversity and supporting the intrinsic value of nature. It also provides a suite of ecosystem services (e.g., improved water quality, fertile and stable soils, drought and flood buffering, genetic diversity, and carbon sequestration) that enhance human quality of life(e.g., clean water, food security, enhanced health, and effective governance). Restoration engages people through direct participation and, thus, increases understanding of ecosystems and their benefits and strengthens human communities.We followed the four basic principles of ecological restoration when implementing our coral reef restoration project.These principles are summarized in a practical decision tool in the next section (Figure 1).We encourage readers of our Coral Reef Restoration Toolkit to follow the basic principles of ecological restoration in their own projects. As coral reef restoration scientists and practitioners, we were rewarded with the experience of bringing back life to a dead coral reef. We hope newcomers to the field of coral reef restoration and those already with some experience will benefit from reading and implementing our Toolkit, so they are also rewarded withsuccessful outcomes.