Project owner Coral Guardian

Restoring and protecting coral ecosystems 

In response to global warming and anthropogenic pressures on coral ecosystems around the world, Coral Guardian is designing initiatives to restore coral reefs and educate local populations; Mirova Foundation is supporting the association’s launch of 2 new projects, located in Kenya and in France’s overseas territories.

Issues

Coral reefs are home to 25%1 of our planet’s marine biodiversity, for which they are at once habitat, refuge, breeding grounds and food. Reefs also provide invaluable ecosystem services to humans, services no less than 500 million people depend on directly.  

Yet man-made global warming poses a direct threat to coral, which cannot survive in overly warm waters: 40% of coral reefs have already disappeared, a number that could climb to 90% by 2050.2 A range of local pressures (pollution, destructive fishing, coastal development) are exacerbating the impact on these ecosystems, which are already vulnerable to global warming and bleaching. 

These pressures have dramatic consequences both for marine biodiversity (possible catastrophic loss of marine species and ecosystem functions) and for the human communities that depend on them: food insecurity and loss of income due to reduced fish stocks, diminished tourist appeal, coastal erosion, etc. 

1Coraux : essentiels à la vie marine, WWF France : https://www.wwf.fr/especes-prioritaires/coraux
2Coral Guardian

Actions

Created in 2012 and certified under the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), Coral Guardian works with local communities and associations to restore and protect coral ecosystems, which are on the front lines of both climate change effects and ocean warming, while also playing a key role in mitigating climate-related issues. 

To this end, the association supports various local and international bodies in implementing projects to protect and restore coral ecosystems. It intervenes in contexts where ecosystems are seriously damaged and cannot recover naturally. At the same time, Coral Guardian is spearheading public awareness campaigns in France and offering people the chance to adopt coral reefs so that they can play a part in restoring marine ecosystems. 

The association is already present in the Mediterranean, in Spain, via the Deep CORE project to combat man-made pollution, and in Indonesia, where it is helping to restore the seabed following ravages caused by dynamite fishing. In 2024, Coral Guardian launched a new coral restoration project in Kenya. 

Key figures

Our support

  • Multi-year partnership over three years (2024-2027) 
  • Support for implementation of two new projects to restore coral reefs and educate local populations in Kenya and the French overseas territories where the association is not yet present 
  • Primary financial partner of the Overseas Territories project 
  • Skills sponsorship according to needs as identified by Coral Guardian  
  • Outreach and raising awareness  

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