Coral Reef Monitoring & Restoration
Coral Reef Monitoring & Restoration
Community-Led Coral Reef Monitoring in the Mesoamerican Reef System & the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Adventure Scientists’ Coral Reef Monitoring & Restoration program is a community-led coral reef monitoring initiative across the Mesoamerican Reef System and the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Trained local community divers survey reefs in Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, and the Galápagos using standardized protocols, and the data supports reef restoration, marine protected area planning, and blue economy decisions.
This multi-country initiative helps collect critical reef health data in regions where information gaps make conservation planning difficult. The resulting data helps scientists, conservation organizations, and marine managers better understand reef conditions and prioritize actions that protect coral reefs for future generations. By utilizing and training local divers, we’re building lasting scientific capacity and creating local opportunities in Latin America.
Why Are Coral Reefs Important for the Blue Economy?
Coral reefs are among the most important ecosystems on Earth. Although they cover only 0.2% of the ocean floor, they are home to over 25% of all marine species. They feed millions, protect coastlines, and sustain economies worth $2.7 trillion annually. Yet between 2009 and 2019, the world lost 14% of its coral reefs, according to the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network’s 2020 status report.
Without bold, coordinated action, many more could disappear before they are even studied. When reefs decline, the impacts extend far beyond coral itself, affecting marine life, coastal communities, tourism economies, and fisheries.
Protecting coral reefs starts with understanding their condition, and that requires reliable scientific data.
Ocean Conservation Starts With Data
Ocean conservation depends on reliable data about the condition of marine ecosystems.
Adventure Scientists’ coral reef monitoring helps fill critical gaps in reef health and marine biodiversity data, so that governments, NGOs, and marine managers can plan conservation with evidence.
A New Chapter for Coral Reef Science
Many coral reef research efforts work in isolation. This program connects reef monitoring across five nations with one set of standardized protocols.
- Collaboration at Scale: 5 nations, 6 National Parks, 6 major partners, and more than 50 community members receiving direct financial support for their contributions. Live survey totals are on the dashboard above.
- Community Empowerment: Providing high-quality systems and scientific training to local diver professionals with extensive dive qualifications, building lasting scientific capacity and creating local opportunities.
- Standardized, High-Quality Data: Standardized protocols ensure global comparability and are designed for immediate use by policymakers and environmental management agencies.
- Urgency + Reach: Filling gaps in understudied regions to expand understanding and documentation of current reef health in order to protect these ecosystems.
Building Conservation Through Collaboration
This initiative brings together scientific institutions, marine conservation organizations, reef restoration practitioners, international government agencies, marine protected area managers, and community conservation leaders.
Together, we’ve set in motion a community-powered coral reef monitoring and restoration effort that connects partners across five nations.
Learn more about our partners and their contributions to coral reef conservation
- Blue Indigo Foundation: Blue Indigo is a nonprofit organization based on San Andrés Island, dedicated to the conservation and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems. Since 2020, their locally trained team has led impactful projects—including the successful cultivation of over 80,000 coral fragments and transplantation of more than 20,000 coral colonies. Through strategic partnerships with government agencies, NGOs, dive centers, and tourism operators, Blue Indigo continues to expand its reach and drive lasting marine conservation outcomes.
- Roatan Marine Park (RMP) is a community-based nonprofit committed to conserving Roatan’s protected marine and coastal areas. Their work safeguards the island’s rich biodiversity—including its ecosystems, wildlife, and cultural heritage—through education, enforcement, and restoration efforts that empower local communities and promote long-term sustainability.
- Centro de Investigaciones Costeras: CUCOSTA, a regional campus of the University of Guadalajara, has been dedicated to sustainable development research since its founding in 1994. The institution focuses on coastal resource conservation through five key areas: marine ecology, aquaculture, biogeochemistry and pollution, ecosystem management, integrated coastal zone management, and scientific outreach.
- Galápagos Reef Revival is a science-driven coral restoration initiative founded in 2021 on Isabela Island, dedicated to supporting the recovery and long-term resilience of coral ecosystems in the Galápagos. Working in collaboration with academic and conservation institutions, it uses active reef restoration to propagate resilient coral varieties and restore areas severely impacted by historic El Niño events. Its work integrates applied research, coral restoration, environmental education, and community engagement to strengthen coral conservation and support long-term ecosystem recovery.
- CONMAR (Conservación Marina Ecuador) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2021 and based on the coast of continental Ecuador. Its work focuses on protecting marine-coastal ecosystems, restoring coral reefs, environmental education, and supporting the sustainable development of local communities, currently in and around Machalilla National Park.
Support the Blue Economy With Actionable Data
This project will deliver actionable insights to the agencies and organizations that shape marine conservation across Latin America. Governments will use this data to designate protected areas. NGOs will leverage it to guide restoration. Local communities will gain the knowledge and skills to protect their reefs long after the project ends.
Coral Reef Monitoring at a Glance
What it is: A community-led coral reef monitoring and restoration support program run by Adventure Scientists with scientific institutions, marine conservation organizations, reef restoration practitioners, government agencies, marine protected area managers, and community conservation leaders.
Where: The Mesoamerican Reef System and the Eastern Tropical Pacific, with monitoring sites in Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, continental Ecuador, Costa Rica (Caribbean and Pacific coasts), and the Galápagos.
How: We train local community divers to survey reefs using standardized protocols, so results are comparable across reefs and countries.
Who uses the data: Governments designating protected areas, NGOs guiding reef restoration, marine managers, and the local communities that protect their reefs.
Live data: Survey totals, monitored sites, and a regional reef map are on this page.
Bring Coral Reef Monitoring to Your Country
Governments, NGOs, funders, and marine protected area managers can partner with Adventure Scientists to fund this work or expand standardized, community-led coral reef monitoring to new reefs and countries. We bring the protocols, training, and data tools, and work with local divers and conservation partners to build lasting capacity. Learn more about our conservation data collection services or see the results of our work.
Looking to bring coral reef research to your region or support coral reef restoration?
Frequently Asked Questions About Coral Reef Conservation & Monitoring
What is coral reef conservation?
Coral reef conservation includes efforts to protect, restore, and monitor coral reef ecosystems so they can continue supporting marine life and coastal communities.
Why do coral reefs need protection?
Coral reefs face threats from climate change, warming water temperatures, pollution, habitat loss, and other environmental pressures. Monitoring helps identify problems and guide conservation efforts.
How does coral reef monitoring help?
Monitoring provides scientists and managers with the information needed to evaluate reef health, prioritize conservation actions, and measure restoration success.
What is marine conservation?
Marine conservation focuses on protecting ocean ecosystems, marine biodiversity, and the communities that depend on healthy oceans.
What is Blue Economy?
The blue economy is the sustainable use of ocean, coastal, and other aquatic resources to support economic growth, livelihoods, and ecosystem health. It’s about benefiting from water-based resources without destroying them. The World Bank calls it the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving ecosystem health.
Why does blue economy matter?
The blue economy ensures that economic growth and ocean conservation must go hand‑in‑hand. The global ocean economy generates ~$2.6 trillion annually and supports 100+ million jobs, and coastal ecosystems protect communities from storms; store carbon; and support biodiversity. Both aspects are important.
How does coral reef monitoring data support governments and NGOs?
Standardized coral reef monitoring data helps governments designate and manage marine protected areas, and helps NGOs decide where to focus reef restoration. Because every partner uses the same protocols, results can be compared across reefs and countries.
What is community-based coral reef monitoring?
Community-based coral reef monitoring trains local dive professionals to survey reefs using standardized protocols. It builds lasting scientific capacity in the communities that live closest to the reefs and creates local opportunities, including paid work.
Where does Adventure Scientists monitor coral reefs?
Monitoring takes place in the Mesoamerican Reef System and the Eastern Tropical Pacific, with sites in Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica (Caribbean and Pacific coasts), and the Galápagos.
How can my organization fund or expand coral reef monitoring?
Funders, foundations, NGOs, and government agencies can support this work with a gift or partner with Adventure Scientists to bring standardized, community-led coral reef monitoring to additional reefs and countries. Use the Support Coral Reefs button on this page to give, or use the Partner With Us button to email our team about a partnership.