{"id":2890,"date":"2016-11-23T18:01:05","date_gmt":"2016-11-24T02:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coral.org\/news\/one-person-can-make-a-difference-2\/"},"modified":"2021-09-01T12:35:39","modified_gmt":"2021-09-01T19:35:39","slug":"one-person-can-make-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coral.org\/en\/blog\/one-person-can-make-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"One Person Can Make a Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Day 2<\/strong> of our underwater journey continues with Paulo Kolikata, a Fijian fisherman from Kubulau and our 2015 CORAL Conservation Prize Winner.<\/p>\n

Individuals, like you or me, can profoundly impact components of the natural world \u2013 and that is particularly true with coral reefs. Over five hundred million people depend on coral reefs to support their livelihoods. This can present challenges \u2013 such as overfishing or pollution. But all it takes is one individual to recognize a problem, rally others behind a positive solution and change the course of the future for the better.<\/p>\n

One such individual is Paulo. He recognized the importance of his village\u2019s reef and started working to protect it for future generations. Over the last decade, his dedicated and collaborative efforts with CORAL, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Bose Vanua (the council of village chiefs) and the community have led to more than 78 km2 of protected marine habitats. Their efforts have improved food security and increased fish populations and biomass in places where fishing is permitted.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a video highlighting Paulo\u2019s accomplishments for the Kubulau district in Fiji.<\/p>\n