The loss of coral reefs around the world requires new approaches to support large-scale coral conservation and restoration. While various innovative solutions have been developed at smaller scales, the transition to field application is currently being hindered by regulatory constraints and a lack of infrastructure for testing. Fundacion Puntacana has developed a project to establish a Marine Innovation Hub that can serve as the testing grounds for the implementation of these new technologies.
The urgent need to counteract the rapid decline of coral reefs has motivated the creation of new technologies to bridge the gap between conventional coral restoration efforts and the rapid pace at which our reefs are deteriorating. Testing sites with the necessary infrastructure and operational logistics to be able to participate in the development of these new tools are needed. We want to grow in our land-based facility, and have a more efficient management of our underwater nursery.
We propose to expand our existing facilities to assess new techniques and innovative out of the box solutions by establishing a Marine Innovation Hub in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The Hub's aim is to pilot new marine conservation tools, enhance local restoration capacity, and serve as a testing ground for these new technologies developed by other partner institutions that will help us adapt and increase the effectiveness and reach of our current restoration efforts.
The establishment of the Marine Innovation Hub will have significant long-term effects in Dominican Republic's (DR) marine ecosystem and conservation efforts, as it will provide a centralized platform for researchers and practitioners to test and develop innovative coral conservation technologies. We expect that the Hub will offer the possibility for scaling up and increasing the effectiveness of coral restoration initiatives in the DR in a way that can also be replicated in other locations.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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