Project proposal 1. Project name Restoring Maldivian coral reefs as climate resilient ecosystems 2. Timeframe September 2019 – 31 December 2022 3. Project summary The Maldives’ atolls are the jewels of the Indian Ocean. Not only are coral reefs the foundation of the Maldivian economy, they are the actual foundation of every island and they protect the low-lying islands from the eroding forces of the sea. They also provide the environmental setting for the country’s most lucrative industry, tourism. Coral reef protection is fundamental to the future of the country and Maldivian people. Yet, there are no examples of well managed marine protected areas in the country and due to over exploitation, these reefs are degrading and losing their capacity to support the people who depend on them. BLUE together with its local partners are working to create the first locally managed marine reserve in the Maldives on Laamu Atoll. The reserve will seek to combine effective management of small- scale fisheries and reef protection in a network of locally supported and effectively managed reserves. BLUE’s model aims to demonstrate that effective conservation in the interests of all is possible in Maldives with the support of multiple stakeholders: Private sector, government, NGOs and the local community. Implementing a well-managed marine reserve on Laamu would act as an exemplar of good management practice, both in terms of public/private partnership, strong community participation, good scientific input and tangible, measurable results under- and above water. It would form the basis for a model that could be rolled out to other atolls. It could also become a regional exemplar of excellence in ocean conservation that others could learn from. 4. Overall mission 1 Blue Marine Foundation’s mission is to see at least 30 per cent of the world’s ocean under effective protection by 2030 and the other 70 per cent managed in a responsible way. We aim to achieve this by: 1. Securing marine protected areas; 2. Developing models of sustainable fishing; 3. Restoring marine habitats; 4. Tackling unsustainable fishing and; 5. Connecting people with the sea. Creating the first marine protected area on Laamu Atoll would help BLUE to achieve its mission of seeing 30 per cent of the world’s oceans under effective protection. The marine protected area will be a no-take zone surrounded by a buffer zone in which only sustainable reef fishing will be allowed which would support BLUE’s vision to see the remaining 70% responsibly managed. 5. SMART-aim By the end of 2022 BLUE and its local partners, the Laamu Atoll Council and Six Senses Laamu will have created the first marine protected area on Laamu Atoll. This marine protected area will cover an area of at least 2000 hectares and will protect at least three key habitats-coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves- and at least ten endangered species. 6. Activity plan 1. To understand the health of marine species and habitats on Laamu Atoll, we will: 1a. Conduct baseline benthic and fish surveys at 14 different coral reef sites. 1b. Conduct baseline surveys of the mangrove forests on Laamu atoll. 1c. Conduct baseline surveys at seven different seagrass sites. 1d. Monitor the success of turtle nesting on Gaadhoo Island monthly, for one year 2. To understand the resource use within key ecosystems on Laamu Atoll we will: 2a. Conduct resource use surveys with ~200 residents on Laamu Atoll. 2 3: To establish accurate perception baselines of the wildlife in Laamu Atoll and assess change among local communities over time we will: 3a. Create a semi-structured questionnaire to collect and capture LEK from the residents. 3b. Conduct a historical search for sources and accounts dating to island discovery to present day. 4: To develop the design and management plan for the reserve with key stakeholders in Laamu Atoll we will: 4a. Assist Laamu Atoll Council to create a marine reserve stakeholder committee. 4b. Develop participatory planning workshop activities with a specialist. 4c. Hold ~four participatory planning workshops on each island in Laamu. 5: To generate strong support for marine reserves and sustainable fisheries in Laamu we will: 5a. Continue to educate young adults and students to foster environmentally aware individuals to mitigate environmental issues and assist sustainable development. 5b. Continue to engage the community with the concept of marine reserves and sustainable fisheries. We will continue to support the annual conservation-based festival led by Six Senses in Laamu to celebrate local wildlife and promote the need for a reserve. 5c. Continue to work with young school children to hand paint wall murals on the remaining islands of Laamu to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable practices. 5d. Develop a series of short films called "Messages from your forefathers". We will collect LEK from the people of Laamu to demonstrate the theory of 'shifting baselines' to convince locals of the need for better management of their resources. 6: To disseminate information about our project and research to promote marine reserves and sustainable fisheries management we will: 6a. Make all our research and protocols publicly available on our Maldives Resilient Reefs project website. 6b. Use our social media pages and public talks to generate awareness about the progress of our projects and related events using photo and video media. 6c. Continue to attend national and international scientific symposiums to present our research. 7. To increase capacity for local environmental management we will: 7a. We will train local conservation leaders in Laamu Atoll. 3 7b. We will provide six internships to university students. 7c We will continue to run our public seminar series at the Maldives National University featuring a series of talks from international scientific experts to build capacity for conservation and resource management within the government and young students. 8: To incentivise fishermen to fish more sustainably we will: 8a. Develop a multi-stakeholder working group for reef fishermen who sell their catch to the resort. 8b. Develop a fishing code-of-conduct with fishermen and provide fishermen with an economic incentive to fish more sustainably. 9: To secure national protection for the marine reserve we will: 9a. Continue to support the government's national objectives and political commitments. 9b. We will apply for the reserve to become a designated 'Hope Spot' to promote national and international attention to the biodiversity value and the need for it to become nationally recognised as a protected area. 9c. We will launch a local petition for the marine reserve and secure a minimum of ~10,000 signatures from at least 50 per cent of the population to support its creation. 9d. We will write a marine reserve proposal to the Ministry of Environment providing evidence which will justify national legislation. 7. Evaluation process How do you evaluate the work within your project? Describe the variables on which you evaluate your work? The long-term goals of the reserve are to: (1) Protect, conserve, and restore the species and genetic diversity of living marine resources and ecosystem processes; (2) Manage marine and coastal areas to promote sustainability of the use and to reclaim and recover areas and resources that have been over-exploited; and (3) Ensure resource users who live on the islands situated inside and in the vicinity of the marine reserve are involved in the planning, development, and management of the reserve, sharing the benefits of the protected area operations and have priority in the resource use and other economic opportunities. The specific project goals are to (1) determine the health of key ecosystems on Laamu Atoll, (2) Determine resource use patterns in these areas, (3) establish accurate baselines of marine life in Laamu Atoll and assess change over time, (4) develop a marine reserve management plan, ensure 4 that resource users are involved in the planning, development, and management of the reserve and (5) secure national protection for the marine reserve Goal 1: Determine the health of key ecosystems on Laamu Atoll Managing and conserving the biodiversity within Laamu requires knowledge of the physical and biological assets. However, very little is known about the current state of the habitats and biological assemblages within the atoll. Six Senses Laamu collect data on the local biodiversity and habitats found around the resort island and at commonly visited dive sites. However, data may be biased and unreliable due to sporadic collection, staff changes and non-standardised methods. Effective management of Laamu’s resources into the future requires this knowledge gap to be filled efficiently and quantitatively. We will collect bio-physical information about habitats and biodiversity within the proposed marine reserve and from areas adjacent to it. This will include information such as: types, and extent, of ecosystems and habitats, the flora and fauna of each of these habitats, the structure and extent of coral communities and other benthic communities, the composition of fish assemblages associated with the coral communities and other benthic communities, areas that are unusually rich in biodiversity within the boundaries of the MPA, i.e. areas with a high diversity and richness of a particular group; areas with a high diversity and richness of several groups, areas used by fishes for spawning, and as juvenile nursery areas and the distribution of sea turtles, other marine mammals, and of habitats used by these groups. Goal 2. Determine resource use patterns in these areas Community consultation is known to be the largest predictor of successful marine reserves. We will develop resource use surveys (including both socio-economic surveys and fisheries surveys) and survey both the proposed reserve and adjacent areas of land and sea. This is necessary because human activities outside the boundaries of proposed marine reserves both in the sea and in coastal areas, may directly affect decisions made in both the design and management of any protected area.