80% of coral cover lost in 50 years. Tourism economies directly dependent on reef health. The most active coral restoration community in the world — and 60% of Caribbean reefs concentrated in just four countries.
Caribbean reefs have lost an estimated 80% of their coral cover over the past half century. The causes compound: overfishing removed key herbivores. The 1983 die-off of Diadema antillarum sea urchins eliminated the primary algae grazer. Hurricanes physically destroyed reef structures. Bleaching events intensified. And since 2014, Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) has spread across the region, killing dozens of coral species at unprecedented speed.
The iconic reef-builders — Acropora cervicornis (staghorn), Acropora palmata (elkhorn), Orbicella spp. (mountainous star coral) — are now listed as threatened or endangered. Dendrogyra cylindrus (pillar coral) is critically endangered. In some areas, live coral cover has fallen to single digits.
Yet the Caribbean has something no other region has: the most active and experienced coral restoration community on Earth. Over 20 coral nurseries operate across the region, producing more than 40,000 corals per year. What they lack is a method that scales beyond artisan-level fragmentation — which is exactly what our approach provides.
Coral reefs underpin roughly half the Caribbean's economy. Tourism, fisheries, and coastal protection services from healthy reefs generate billions annually. For Small Island Developing States like Barbados, Antigua, and the Bahamas, reef degradation is not an environmental concern — it's an existential economic threat.
The 1,000 km Mesoamerican Reef — the Western Hemisphere's largest barrier reef — stretches along Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Its collapse would devastate coastal communities across four nations. Caribbean coral reef ecosystem services have been valued at over US$300,000 per year per hectare.
Rebuilding reef habitat doesn't just restore ecology. It restores the dive tourism that employs thousands, the fisheries that feed millions, and the natural breakwater infrastructure that protects coastlines from increasingly severe hurricane seasons.
20+ active nurseries. Decades of experience. SECORE's larval propagation, CRF's fragment gardening, Fragments of Hope in Belize. The knowledge base exists — it needs a method that scales.
Caribbean islands are largely built from limestone. Volcanic rock available throughout the Lesser Antilles arc. Substrate is everywhere.
SIDS climate vulnerability drives urgent restoration demand. Multiple governments have national coral action plans. CoralCarib spans four countries with IKI funding.
60% of Caribbean reefs are in just four countries — Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica. Focused investment can protect the majority of the basin's reef ecosystem.
The Caribbean has the densest network of coral restoration practitioners on Earth. These are the organisations whose work aligns most directly with scaling habitat creation.
The world's largest coral reef restoration organisation. Operates seven offshore nurseries containing over 100,000 corals. Has outplanted more than 200,000 critically endangered staghorn and elkhorn corals onto Florida's Coral Reef. Partners with NOAA's Mission: Iconic Reefs.
Federal US programme supporting coral restoration across the Caribbean and Pacific. Leads Mission: Iconic Reefs in the Florida Keys — restoring seven sites from 2% to 25% coral cover. Provides funding, technical support, and scientific coordination for regional restoration.
Pioneer of larval propagation for coral restoration. Developed the Coral Rearing In-situ Basins (CRIBs) system. Working across Mexico, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Partnership with California Academy of Sciences and TNC on the Global Coral Restoration Project. Directly relevant to our larval settlement approach.
Leading institution in Caribbean coral larval propagation research. Dr. Anastazia Banaszak's team pioneered laboratory coral larval rearing in the Mexican Caribbean. Part of the AGRRA Caribbean Restoration Roadmaps Initiative.
Pioneering community-based coral restoration in Belize since 2006. Founded by Lisa Carne. Has restored over 85,000 corals across multiple reef sites. Demonstrates that local communities can operate successful restoration programmes with minimal external support.
Pioneered assisted sexual coral reproduction in the Dominican Republic — the first programme of its kind in the country. Land-based larval propagation facility using converted shipping container as mobile lab. Partners with SECORE and TNC. Network now spans nine countries.
Private foundation operating a microfragmentation facility in Punta Cana. Transplanted 2,800 microfragments from eight coral species in 2024. Part of the CoralCarib project. Demonstrates private-sector engagement in restoration.
Cuba's primary marine research institution. Active coral restoration at Jardines de la Reina National Park. Learning larval propagation techniques through south-south exchange with Dominican scientists. Partner in the CBF-funded coastal enhancement programme.
Historic Caribbean marine research station. Site of CoralCarib coral monitoring training workshops. Long-term reef ecological data. UWI's marine science programme trains the next generation of Caribbean marine biologists.
Community-based coral restoration across the eastern Caribbean since 2017. Uses table nurseries in shallow water and tree nurseries at depth. CBF EbA Facility grantee. Demonstrates the community-operated model our approach scales.
Research station and nature management organisation. Leading institution for coral spawning research and larval propagation in the southern Caribbean. SECORE partnership. Long-term ecological datasets for Curaçao reefs.
40+ years in the Caribbean. Leads the CoralCarib project across Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and Dominican Republic. Coral Innovation Hubs. Partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross on nature-based coastal resilience. Operating hybrid reef pilot projects.
Regional reef monitoring and assessment network. Runs the Caribbean Restoration Roadmaps Initiative with MPAConnect. Training programmes for coral practitioners across the region. Standardised reef health data across multiple nations.
US nonprofit with decades of Caribbean work. Received $1.9M CBF grant for Cuba and Dominican Republic coastal enhancement. Facilitating south-south coral restoration knowledge exchange between Caribbean nations.
The Caribbean has dedicated biodiversity financing mechanisms, active development bank engagement, strong bilateral programmes, and a tourism sector with direct economic interest in reef health.
Regional conservation finance mechanism since 2012. Operates the Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Facility, co-financed by Germany's International Climate Initiative (IKI) through KfW. Grants of $1–2M for coral and mangrove restoration projects. Has funded work across Cuba, DR, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, and more.
Six-year programme (2023–2029) for coral conservation and restoration across Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica. Led by TNC. Funded by Germany's International Climate Initiative. Targets Climate Resilient Refuges — reef sites predicted to survive warming.
UN-convened blended finance vehicle for coral reefs. The Mesoamerican Reef initiative (MAR+Invest) provides financing to 50 early-stage, reef-friendly businesses across Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Combines grant funding with impact investment.
SIDS are priority GCF recipients. Reef restoration as natural coastal protection infrastructure has a strong adaptation case. Multiple Caribbean nations have approved GCF projects in coastal resilience.
Regional development bank with blue economy and climate resilience programmes across the Caribbean. Supports nature-based solutions, coastal infrastructure, and sustainable fisheries. Emerging blue bond market.
British government programme supporting marine conservation in developing countries. Active in Caribbean Overseas Territories and partner nations. Funds marine science capacity, habitat protection, and sustainable livelihoods.
Caribbean tourism directly depends on reef health. The Puntacana Foundation model demonstrates private-sector investment in restoration. Hotel groups, dive operators, and cruise lines increasingly recognise that reef degradation threatens their business model.
The Caribbean has the world's most experienced coral restoration community. What it needs now is a method that matches the scale of the crisis — moving from thousands of hand-planted fragments to millions of hectares of substrate-based habitat creation.
The Caribbean doesn't need more restoration knowledge. It needs a method that scales. Twenty nurseries producing 40,000 corals a year when 80% of the reef is gone — the maths doesn't work. Ours can.