Project title: Corals 4 Conflicts

Lead applicant: Hayley Versace

Co-applicants: Bjoren Marai, Freda Nicholson, Genevive Paul, Henry Bunena, Steven Amos, Michael Moten

Countries involved: Papua New Guinea, Australia

Takes place: Papua New Guinea

Supporting institutions: The Coral Islands Limited, Conflict Islands Conservation Initiative, Mars Sustainable Solutions

Total budget: USD 99,724

Duration: 24 months

Project overview

In an era of rapid climate change, rising sea temperatures are severely stressing even the most resilient corals in Papua New Guinea. With water temperatures reaching 35–38 °C during bleaching events, even heat-tolerant “super corals” struggle to survive because temperatures exceed their critical thresholds. This triggers a chain reaction: reef structures collapse, primary producers disappear, herbivores and small consumers decline, mid-level and apex predators lose their prey, nutrient cycling breaks down, biodiversity is lost, and vital fisheries and eco-tourism sectors collapse.

Without coral recovery, reef ecosystems often shift to algal-dominated, low-biodiversity states, providing far fewer ecological services for both marine life and the human communities that depend on them. With nearly 60% of coastal communities in Papua New Guinea living in multidimensional poverty, there is an urgent need for scalable, community-led recovery systems to sustain healthy livelihoods.

This project focuses on rescuing heat-adapted “super corals” from high-temperature zones, or “hot pockets,” and relocating them to controlled, cooler coral nurseries and coral stars designed to enhance survival and growth. Coral stars are steel structures that stabilize degraded substrates and accelerate coral attachment and growth. By doing so, the project aims to build ecological resilience and ensure these ecosystems can better withstand future environmental challenges.

Specific objectives

1. Build the ecological resilience of coral reefs in Papua New Guinea by rescuing heat-adapted “super corals” from critical high-temperature zones and relocating them to controlled, cooler coral nurseries and artificial structures.
2. Strengthen local capacity through training and education on coral rehabilitation in Papua New Guinea.

How the objectives will be met

Build ecological resilience of coral reefs:

• Collect fragments of heat-tolerant “super corals” for outplanting.
• Trial a new low-cost photogrammetry 3D mapping method to reduce analysis time and provide more detailed information on coral reef composition.
• Produce 3D reef models for 20 sites per year.
• Build and deploy 450 Mars-style coral stars seeded with heat-tolerant corals.
• Conduct ecological surveys to measure percentage of hard coral versus algal cover before and after restoration (240 quadrats per year).
• Outplant 1,000 coral fragments using clips on rock substrate, ensuring successful attachment.
• Assess coral growth and survival rates over time.

Strengthen local capacity:

• Provide on-site and online training for rangers in new techniques and skills for coral reef rehabilitation and monitoring.
• Conduct ranger interviews to evaluate knowledge acquisition and application of the new techniques.

Impact of the project

• Local rangers trained in advanced coral rehabilitation techniques (e.g. scuba diving, photogrammetry, coral star construction)
• Creation of new local jobs and strengthened livelihoods.
• At least two villages initiating self-led coral nursery trials.
• Development of the first coral restoration guidelines for Papua New Guinea
• Development of one policy brief submitted to the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), strengthening national restoration policies and procedures.
• Formal submission of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) management plan to CEPA within six months after project completion.
• Stabilization of ≥ 0.5 ha of reef substrate with coral stars.
• Biodiversity recovery demonstrated by an increase in species richness at restored plots.
• Long-term capacity built for ongoing reef monitoring and restoration.

Major highlights

• Implementation of training, education, and continuous, systematic monitoring and mapping of reef sites and transects in both highly impacted and relatively low-impacted areas.
• All rangers are from local communities
• Promotes female leadership in marine conservation.
• Strong integration of scientific research with active policy engagement to influence national decision-making.
• Use of heat-adapted “super corals” to enhance climate resilience and ensure long-term ecological restoration success.
• Application of scalable, proven restoration tools (e.g., Mars-style coral stars and coral clips) tailored to the Papua New Guinea context.
• Establishment of a replicable model that combines local stewardship, cutting-edge science, and policy uptake—designed for scaling across the Pacific region.