The Coral Lab
A great accomplishment for the future of our reefs

The Story

Where IT BEGAN
Reef Support and Indonesia Biru Foundation have come together to set-up “The first coral lab in the Central Indonesia region”. The project taps on new coral reef restoration techniques including micro-fragmentation, assisted evolution and land-based farming while at the same time, become a sustainable economic model for local coastal communities around Southeast Asia and the world.

This all goes towards the end goal of restoring 500 m² of coral reef in West Lombok before August 2022.

THE SCIENCE
Land-based coral farms integrate breakthrough methods to accelerate coral growth up to 50 times (using the technique of micro-fragmentation) while enhancing their resiliency to warming and acidifying oceans (assisted evolution). In micro-fragmentation the corals will be cut into smaller polyps, which stimulates tissue growth. Because of this the corals can grow up to 50 times as fast as in their natural habitats.

Depending on farm size, hundreds of thousands or millions of corals can be grown from each site annually. For perspective, the largest existing coral farming project (which only grows fast-growing species without enhanced resiliency on dependent on a single grant for funding) grew 40,000 corals one time. If deployed at scale, this contribution can preserve coral reefs from destruction and extinction until meaningful climate change mitigation measures are enacted.
WATCH VIDEO:
Credits to the students and IBF

From Oct 2021 - Jan 2022, 4 students of the Delft University of Technology, under mentor Prof. Fatima Delgado, will travel to Lombok, Indonesia, where IBF is based. There, they will design, plan and help to build (along with A LOT of local help!) the coral lab where the ocean meets science meets the public. As an open lab, visitors from schools as well as companies can participate in learning about how coral fragments are created, grown, and ultimately placed back in the ocean!
READ PART I AND II OF THE STUDENTS' JOURNEY HERE:

Coral Lab

Coral reefs are exceptionally valuable; they provide food, livelihoods and economic opportunity to more than half a billion people in over 100 countries; they are also teeming with life, hosting a quarter of all known marine species. Nearly 200 million people depend on coral reefs to protect them from storm surges and waves. Increased acidification, pollution, fishing and other forms of coastal activities all impact our fuure of our coral reefs.

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Blog: Part II

The 4 Reef Students are making great progress: signing their first contract, breaking first ground on the lab, gaining their Open Water PADI certificate, and having their first restoration dive! Click to read more on the story, where we thank the sponsors and tell you how to get more involved, by T-shirts, or by citizen science.

Blog: Part I

Motivated by a shared goal, 4 Reef Students of TU Delft are closely working together, in the context of their ongoing studies, with Reef Support and an inspiring non-governmental organisation, the Indonesia Biru Foundation (IBF) to kickstart the decade of ocean regeneration with a community-driven coral lab!

Those who helped make it a reality.

A BIG THANK YOU

The initial crowdfunding campaign to fund the installation of the reef tanks where coral fragments will be nurtured as well as other equipment such as coral cutting tools and a presentation microscope was met an incredible 123% of the funding goal! (read more in Part II of the blog). A very big shoutout to the companies and organizations:

TU Delft logo

Coral Lab

Coral reefs are exceptionally valuable; they provide food, livelihoods and economic opportunity to more than half a billion people in over 100 countries; they are also teeming with life, hosting a quarter of all known marine species. Nearly 200 million people depend on coral reefs to protect them from storm surges and waves. Increased acidification, pollution, fishing and other forms of coastal activities all impact our fuure of our coral reefs.

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Letter B with palm tree
AND ALL THE INDIVIDUALS WHO DONATED HERE

Wish to help?

LEARN HOW BELOW

Visit the Lab and take a Dive!

At the lab, we host an array of activities including recreational, educational and restorative programs. On a daily basis, the lab has to be maintained so it can be open to public that is open for visitation. For current schedules and bookings, please follow the link below to email us. Are you interested in becoming a Reef Ranger in Lombok at the coral lab HQ? Please contact our team for internship availabilities.

Plan a trip

Coral Lab

Coral reefs are exceptionally valuable; they provide food, livelihoods and economic opportunity to more than half a billion people in over 100 countries; they are also teeming with life, hosting a quarter of all known marine species. Nearly 200 million people depend on coral reefs to protect them from storm surges and waves. Increased acidification, pollution, fishing and other forms of coastal activities all impact our fuure of our coral reefs.

SEE PAGE
Letter B with palm tree

Adopt-a-coral

The lab grows hundreds of corals each year, some of which you can be proud of to call your own! The adoption fees go directly to the local organization that maintains the labs and plans restoration dives to build the reef in Indonesia, coral by coral.

We invite you to join us in protecting the world's coral reefs. By adopting coral fragments to be grown and out-planted into degraded reefs, you can help in the effort to preserve these endangered ecosystems for future generations.

ADOPT HERE