Spending a day restoring coral reefs with Biorock Indonesia
Coral Reef Project, Pemuteran, Bali
Today I had the incredible opportunity of visiting and experiencing the Biorock project in Bali, Indonesia.
I am staying in Pemuteran, Indonesia where the first Biorock coral reef restoration project began in the year 2000. Coral reefs are needed to protect coastlines from erosions and storms and attract tourists to the area to support local communities with snorkel and diving recreation. For this reason, it’s crucial that we protect and help regrow the coral reefs before it is too late.
I am here alongside Amira Diamond (Co-Founder/Co-Director of WEA) and together we had the honor of learning about a woman named Rani Morrow-Wuigk who recently passed away. Rani had a vision along with the Biorock team of turning what was once a catastrophe into a thriving eco-tourist destination while restoring the coral to the area. We experienced Rani’s celebration of her life and met the dedicated people of this project.
WEA Leader Tasya Krissa (2019 Indonesia Accelerator alumni) is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Biorock Indonesia. She spent time teaching us about the technology needed to rebuild the coral reefs for the area and her passion for this project was palpable. We learned that the coral reefs were destroyed with dynamite to release the fish, making them easy to catch. Tasya has dedicated her life to educating the locals, government, and tourists so that the reefs can be revived and protected. We were given a fabulous presentation before heading out to the beach to snorkel and see exactly how they create the Biorock sculptures.
It was fascinating to learn about how the iron contraptions at the bottom of the ocean act as a magnet to the baby coral looking for a place to rest. They showed us how electricity is used to speed up the extremely slow process of coral growth so that the coral can grow 6cm a year rather than 1cm.
We ended the day snorkeling to see the biorock structures and admire the coral.
About Biorock Indonesia
Since its initiation in 2015, Biorock Indonesia (BI) has been focusing on building the proper standards for the implementation of its technology in Indonesia. The organization has developed two key programs, including assistance for partner organization in Biorock development and public engagement through volunteering, internship, and research programs.
So far, Biorock Indonesia has developed 16 projects sites located in 8 provinces of Indonesia, including Bali, North Sulawesi, Maluku, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, West Sumatera, Lampung, and DKI Jakarta, and has reached several national and international governmental level milestones.
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Written by Anika Lough, WEA Intern