The highest marine biodiversity on Earth. 75% of all known coral species. 120 million people dependent on reef ecosystems. The greatest total impact potential on the planet — and an established tradition of aquaculture that maps directly onto our method.
The Coral Triangle spans 6 million km² across the archipelagic waters of six nations and contains more marine species than anywhere else on Earth. Over 600 species of reef-building coral — 75% of all known species — live here. More than 3,000 species of reef fish. It is the spawning ground for tuna, the nursery for whale sharks, and the evolutionary origin point for most of the world's coral reef biodiversity.
It has also suffered immense damage. Decades of dynamite fishing, cyanide fishing, coastal development, sedimentation from deforestation, and now marine heatwaves have degraded enormous areas. Indonesia's coral monitoring shows only 28.8% of reefs with coral cover exceeding 50%. The damage was industrial — blast craters, rubble fields, and dead zones where thriving reefs stood within living memory.
But the reproductive biology is staggering. Mass coral spawning events in the Coral Triangle release trillions of larvae into the water column. The organisms are desperately trying to come back. They need substrate to settle on — and the region has unlimited volcanic rock.
This is not an environmental abstraction. Roughly 363 million people reside in the Coral Triangle, and one-third of them depend directly on coastal and marine resources for their livelihoods. Coral reefs deliver over $3.1 billion in tourism value to Indonesia alone every year.
For coastal fishing communities across Indonesia, the Philippines, and the smaller island nations, reef degradation is not an environmental crisis — it's a food and income crisis. Declining fish stocks mean less protein and less income. Degraded reefs mean less coastal protection from storms and sea-level rise. Rebuilding reef habitat here is a direct investment in food security, employment, and climate resilience for some of the world's most vulnerable communities.
The method is uniquely suited to this region. Indonesia's aquaculture industry already employs over 150,000 people in shrimp farming alone — the exact infrastructure model our nurseries use. The skills, the labour force, and the tradition exist. We're repurposing them for habitat creation.
Every hectare of reef created here supports more species than anywhere else. Maximum ecological return on investment.
Indonesia and the Philippines sit on volcanic geology. Basalt, andesite, and volcanic rubble are available everywhere at minimal cost.
Centuries of fish and shrimp farming. Coastal communities already know how to build and operate seawater ponds. The skills transfer directly.
Mars MARRS programme, COREMAP (World Bank/GEF), UP MSI larval work, community-based MPAs. Active ecosystem to build on.
Institutions whose research, restoration work, or mission aligns with industrial-scale marine habitat creation in the Coral Triangle.
Indonesia's national research and innovation agency (formerly LIPI). Runs the national coral reef monitoring programme. Leads COREMAP scientific activities. The primary government body for marine research in the world's largest archipelagic nation.
Home to the School of Coral Reef Restoration (SCORES). Research on reef rehabilitation policy, larval settlement, and marine spatial planning. Key academic partner in COREMAP and national reef restoration strategy.
Based in Sulawesi, at the heart of the Coral Triangle. Research on coral ecology, reef fisheries, and community-based marine management. Close proximity to Mars MARRS restoration sites in the Spermonde Archipelago.
One of the world's largest coral restoration programmes. Operating in the Spermonde Archipelago since 2006. Developed the Reef Star system. Planted over 300,000 corals across 30+ reefs in 10 countries. Demonstrates corporate-community restoration partnership at scale.
Indonesian national government body responsible for marine policy. Mandated to conduct coral reef rehabilitation at 20 priority locations under the 2021–2025 Indonesian Ocean Policy Action Plan. Manages the national MPA network.
Leading coral larval restoration research in Southeast Asia. Pioneer of large-scale larval reseeding with Dr. Vanessa Baria-Rodriguez. Establishing the Philippines' first coral larvae cryobank at Bolinao Marine Laboratory. ACIAR partnership with Southern Cross University (Australia) since 2015.
One of the Philippines' oldest marine research institutions. Research on coral ecology, marine protected area effectiveness, and reef fish biodiversity in the Visayas — one of the country's most biodiverse and threatened marine regions.
Research centre on Malaysian Borneo's coast. Coral reef ecology, aquaculture development, and marine biotechnology. The Coral Triangle's Malaysian gateway — Sabah's reefs are among the most biodiverse in the region.
National programme for coral reef monitoring. Coordinates volunteer surveys across Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Long-term reef health datasets that can inform site selection for habitat creation.
Marine science research in one of the least-studied but most biodiverse marine regions on Earth. Research on reef ecology, fisheries management, and traditional marine resource management systems.
CGIAR research centre focused on aquatic food systems. Community-based fisheries management, sustainable aquaculture, and climate-resilient coastal livelihoods across the Pacific. Strong presence in the smaller Coral Triangle nations.
Multilateral partnership of all six Coral Triangle governments. Five goals including seascape management, ecosystem approach to fisheries, MPA effectiveness, climate resilience, and threatened species protection. Supported by USAID, ADB, GEF, Conservation International, TNC, and WWF.
Founding partner of the CTI since 2007. Works with governments, communities, and stakeholders across all six nations. Marine spatial planning, MPA design, and sustainable fisheries management.
Active across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Community-based marine management, reef resilience assessments, and large-scale MPA design. One of the largest conservation presences in the region.
German institute with long-standing Indonesian partnerships. Co-authored the legal framework review for coral restoration in Indonesia. Research on tropical reef ecology, fisheries, and coastal social-ecological systems.
Funds coral larval restoration research with UP MSI and Southern Cross University since 2015. Building a Community-based Coral Restoration Network in Southeast Asia. Key Australian development partner for Coral Triangle marine science.
The Coral Triangle has dedicated multilateral funding mechanisms, strong development bank engagement, and growing corporate investment in reef restoration. Multiple pathways exist for both pilot-scale and large-scale deployment.
Indonesian government programme financed by the World Bank and GEF since 1998. Over 21 years of reef science and management capacity building. Supports MPA establishment, community-based management, and reef monitoring nationwide.
Provides technical assistance and financing to implement national CTI plans of action. Has funded COREMAP-CTI in Indonesia. Supports MPA development, sustainable fisheries, and climate adaptation across the region.
Major funder of marine biodiversity projects in the Coral Triangle. Co-finances COREMAP, supports CTI implementation, and funds MPA and fisheries management projects across all six nations.
US bilateral support for marine conservation in the Coral Triangle. Funds community-based natural resource management, MPA effectiveness, and sustainable fisheries across Indonesia and the Philippines.
Growing blue bond and impact investment market in Indonesia. The government's 2021–2025 Ocean Policy Action Plan mandates coral rehabilitation at 20 priority sites. Sovereign blue bonds and blue economy financing mechanisms under development.
ACIAR funding for coral research (UP MSI partnership). DFAT Pacific marine programmes. Step-Up Pacific engagement includes blue economy and climate resilience funding relevant to PNG, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.
Climate adaptation funding applicable to coral reef restoration as natural coastal protection infrastructure. Several Coral Triangle nations are priority GCF recipients. Reef restoration as adaptation has a strong GCF case.
Six nations united by the Coral Triangle Initiative. All have degraded reef habitat, abundant volcanic rock, established aquaculture traditions, and the most urgent need for affordable, scalable restoration on Earth.
Every dollar spent here creates more new habitat and more biodiversity than anywhere else on Earth. The aquaculture tradition exists. The rock is underfoot. The ocean is waiting.