Local and Global News
Photo by Ryan Pernofski
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Hawai’i County Allocates $1.8 Million to Clean Water and Coral Reefs
The Hawai‘i County Council on March 3 voted to approve the allocation of $1.8 million to address ocean sewage pollution in Puakō, Hawai‘i. The Puakō coastline is one of 14 priority sites that have been identified in Hawai‘i as areas to be transitioned off of cesspools. Across the state, an estimated 88,000 cesspools release 53…
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There’s Nothing Romantic About Sewage
There’s a certain romanticized notion of what it must be like to be a coral reef scientist: living in a tropical environment with beautiful white sand beaches, snorkeling and diving every day, surrounded by colorful wildlife and pristine turquoise waters. Sounds dreamy, doesn’t it? And for Dr. Antonella Rivera, Principal Investigator for the Coral Reef…
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Sustainable Tourism in México
Together with our partners, we trained nearly 130 tourism operators on best practices for coral reef conservation throughout México, Belize and Honduras this year. Each year, about 22 million people visit Quintana Roo, México. The Caribbean coastline offers beautiful clear blue waters, white sand beaches, and easy access to the second-largest reef system in the…
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900 Native Plants for Coral Reefs
On Maui, we enabled 10-year-old Abby Rogers to grow 900 native plants in her backyard to help us prevent sediment from entering the ocean and smothering coral reefs. When COVID-19 hit, 10-year-old Abby Rogers was looking for a way to help protect the environment. As a newly certified SCUBA diver, the Maui resident could now…
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Finding Resilience in Honduras
As Executive Director of the Roatán Marine Park, Francis Lean can relate to her tourist clientele—she used to be one of them. Originally from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, Lean used to join the 1.6 million people who visited Roatán on vacation each year. Roatán is one of the three main islands that make up…
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Maui 10-Year-Old Grows 900 Native Plants to Protect Coral Reefs
10-year-old Abby Rogers has converted her backyard into a native plant nursery to help save coral reefs. Rogers is a volunteer with the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), helping to grow native plants that will be transplanted at their stream restoration site in Wahikuli. The native plants trap sediment that runs off the slope and into…
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Maui 10-Year-Old Grows 900 Native Plants to Protect Coral Reefs
For Immediate Release Thursday, October 1, 2020 Maui, Hawai’i – 10-year-old Abby Rogers has converted her backyard into a native plant nursery to help save coral reefs. Rogers is a volunteer with the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), helping to grow native plants that will be transplanted at their stream restoration site in Wahikuli. The native…
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Income Diversification Projects Build Human and Ecosystem Resilience
Coral reefs provide an important source of food and income for coastal and island communities around the world, but more than 55 percent of reefs are threatened by overfishing globally. Coral reefs depend on fish like parrotfish and surgeonfish to consume seaweeds (also called macroalgae) and prevent them from overgrowing and smothering coral reefs. Entrepreneurial…
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Hawaiʻi Wai Ola Citizen Science Program Launches
‘A`ohe hua o ka mai`a i ka lā ho’okaāhi — When a task is done together, no task is too big.” The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) and partners are excited to announce the launch of the Hawaiʻi Wai Ola citizen science program. Hawaiʻi Wai Ola is a collaborative group (called a Hui in Hawaiian) comprised…