Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse and economically valuable ecosystems
on our planet. Home to a quarter of marine fish and millions of species, coral reefs provide
critical services to local communities, including coastal protection, food provisioning, and revenue
from fisheries and tourism (Wilkinson 2004, Burke et al. 2008, 2011). Yet despite their importance,
coral reefs are rapidly declining across the globe due to extreme temperature events caused by
climate change and a host of local-scale threats like pollution and overfishing (Burke et al. 2011,
De’ath et al. 2012, Jackson et al. 2014, Hughes et al. 2017). As rising global temperatures result in
more frequent and severe bleaching events, many coral reefs across the world will likely struggle
to recover and thrive (IPCC 2018).
To combat the global loss of coral reefs, there is a growing interest among resource managers
in using active restoration interventions to mitigate reef degradation and promote recovery and
resilience (Possingham et al. 2015, Boström-Einarsson et al. 2020). Some of the most common
restoration interventions to date have included directly transplanting coral fragments from
one reef to another, and coral gardening, where coral fragments are propagated and grown in
nurseries before being outplanted to a reef (Boström-Einarsson et al. 2020). More techniques are
being trialed and used every day in various regions around the world, such as micro-fragmentation
of massive boulder corals, gamete collection and seeding of reefs with coral larvae, and artificial
reef structures.
However, coral reef restoration as a field is still in its infancy, only recently growing from small
grassroots efforts to becoming a significant component of broader management planning.
As reef managers seek to invest in restoration activities, it is therefore essential that thoughtful
consideration be made for this endeavor, including how, when, and where restoration will
be conducted, as well as how it can complement – rather than take away from – other reef
management strategies. Importantly, restoration should not be considered as a replacement for
conventional strategies like marine protection and threat reduction. Rather, restoration may only
be successful in the long-term when used alongside strong local conservation efforts as well as
climate change mitigation.
While coral reefs become increasingly degraded, new techniques are increasingly needed to
assist reefs in recovering and adapting to changing environmental conditions (Anthony et al. 2017,
Van Oppen et al. 2017, Mcleod et al. 2019). The urgent motivation to sustain coral reefs has fueled
a building momentum to restore and rebuild reefs, with increasing numbers of projects, research
studies, and investments (Young et al. 2012, Boström-Einarsson et al. 2020). Coral reef restoration
is a burgeoning new field with much potential, and the authors of this Guide are excited to
contribute to this global effort. As a global community of managers, scientists, restoration
practitioners, and stakeholders embarking on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-
2030), we must thoughtfully implement coral reef restoration projects, monitor and evaluate
success, and share lessons learned in order to leverage and expand our collective knowledge.
A Manager’s Guide to Coral Reef Restoration Planning and Design supports these needs by
providing a six-step, adaptive management planning process to assist managers in setting and
meeting their restoration goals
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