Microgrants

The concept of reef resiliency as a conservation approach is quite simple: reduce local reef threats to make the ecosystem more resistant to large-scale global threats.

CORAL works toward increasing reef resilience in all project sites by providing microgrants to our local partners to support their efforts to preserve and protect coral reefs. By supporting small-scale, local projects, CORAL generates immediate and positive impacts on the health of coral reefs worldwide.

We are currently focusing on seven project sites: Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Indonesia. Depending on the availability of funds and project needs, grants may range from $500 to $25,000, with the average grant being $5,000. CORAL’s microgrants are made possible through member contributions, dues, and special gifts.

Eligibility: CORAL does not accept unsolicited proposals. All microgrants are awarded to local partners already working with CORAL in our CRSD work

Past Recipients

2006–2007

$1,200 to Taveuni’s Coral Reefs: Our Future (Fiji) for an education and awareness project involving high schools and local community in coral reef awareness. Funding provided for student transportation, educational materials, and awards to winning art and writing projects.

$1,500 to Taveuni’s Coral Reefs: Our Future (Fiji) for educational signage and coastal rubbish bins, and to change unsustainable community behavior.

$10,000 to Raja Ampat (Indonesia) for initial installations of mooring buoys at popular dive destinations within the newly-created five-million hectare marine protected area.

$5,300 to Raja Ampat Marine Park (Indonesia) for production of first user fee dive tags.

$4,000 to Komodo National Park (Indonesia) for completion funds to install new mooring systems that can accommodate larger vessels visiting dive sites. In addition, existing moorings systems were serviced.

$15,000 to Sandy Bay-West End Marine Park (Roatan, Honduras) for installation of marine park channel markers, moorings for dive boats and visiting yachts, and demarcation buoys for MPA zones—swimming, fishing, no-take, and so on.

$30,000 to Placencia (Belize) to fund dive industry–led mooring installation and maintencance program to eliminate anchor damage to popular dive destinations. Local enthusiasm and commitment to this project has resulted in matching funds from Belize Boat Charter Association.

$15,000 to Playa del Carmen (Mexico) to install new mooring buoys throughout popular dive destinations and maintenance/replacement of existing buoys.

$20,000 to Cozumel (Mexico) to fund marine recreation standards training and public awareness campaign on coral reefs and tourism best practices.

$7,500 to San Pedro (Belize) to provide seed funds for Kids in Action coral reef education program that provide K–8 students with early education on the value of healthy coral reefs and importance of marine protected areas and $10,000 for mooring buoy installation and maintenance program for popular local dive destinations.

$5,000 to the Maui Reef Fund (Hawaii) for the purchase of a dedicated mooring installation drill.

$1,500 to Maui (Hawaii) for the production of educational bag tags for snorkel equipment rentals to raise awareness among unguided tourists to reduce damage to reefs. This directly overlaps and supports State of Hawaii Local Action Strategy objectives.

$1,215 to Molokini (Hawaii) for the production of educational materials for snorkel tour vessels to minimize tourist damage to reefs, including educational charts, underwater ID cards, five-book library, laminated posters, inner tube float, and exit survey. The materials will be pilot tested on MV Prince Kuhio and then expand to other operators.

$541 to Maui (Hawaii) for a marine/cultural educational training series and C.O.R.A.L. Cards (Care of our Oceans Reef and Animal Life) to be distributed to participants to acknowledge their achievement and motivate others to participate in the future.

$12,039 to Namena Marine Reserve and Waitabu Marine Park (Fiji) for mooring buoy installations to eliminate anchor damage to local reef systems. This represented the first-ever mooring installation effort in both marine protected areas.

2005

$2,000 to the Malama Kai Foundation to help fund a mooring installation and training program in Maui. The training is part of Hawaii's Day-Use Mooring Program.

$4,000 to purchase patrolling equipment for the Sandy Bay-West End Marine Park (Roatan, Honduras).

$4,000 to the Papua New Guinea Diver's Association (PNGDA) to purchase mooring equipment to reduce anchor damage in Milne Bay and throughout PNG.

$4,000 to Friends of Nature for the Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve Educational Visitors Center in southern Belize.

$4,000 to Conservation Society of Pohnpei to purchase a research vessel to support a Rapid Ecological Assessment of Pohnpei's fragile coral reefs.

2004

$4,885 to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve (Belize) to install mooring buoys to reduce anchor damage while supplying tour boats with a safe and reliable mooring system, and to install park demarcation buoys to easily identify park boundaries.

$3,800 to the Cozumel Marine Park to support patrolling and reef monitoring efforts through the purchase of equipment including digital cameras to document incursions and capture reef health on film, and a handheld GPS to report incident locations.

$3,300 to the Bonaire Marine Park Ranger Education Program (Netherlands Antilles) to develop a ranger course that adequately trains rangers and increases their effectiveness in reef protection and community education.

$3,117 to the Republic of Palau for the Rock Islands Interpretive Signs, to develop and install interpretive signs at key tourist activity areas, with environmental and cultural information specific to each site and guidelines for eco-friendly snorkeling and beach activities.

$3,800 to the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation (CCEF), formerly the Sulu Fund, in Cebue, Philippines, to purchase a patrol boat, two-way radios, and a GPS unit solely dedicated to MPA enforcement to help combat illegal fishing activities from commercial fishing boats.

2003

$1,200 to help cover the cost of producing user fee dive tags for the Namena Marine Reserve (Fiji). All divers visiting the reserve are required to purchase an annual tag with proceeds going toward protection of Namena’s reef and a scholarship fund for village children.

$6,459 to support the placement and maintenance of mooring buoys to mark boundaries and prevent anchor damage in the Waitabu Marine Park (Fiji). The project was completed with the assistance of Resort Support, volunteers within the community of Waitabu, and the dive industry on the island of Taveuni.

$2,190 to Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation (Philippines) in support of the Coastal Resource Management - Resource Reference Project, which makes it possible to provide reference materials and books to coastal managers, stakeholders, and other individuals and institutions working on coastal and marine conservation in the Philippines.

2002

$6,750 to Mangrove Action Project Indonesia and Yayasan Kelola (Palau Conservation Society and Norbert Wu, Republic of Palau) to replant mangroves in the Bunaken area and to build a coastal resource center for training the local community in protecting coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass.

$10,000 to develop marine briefing materials for the Palauan National Congress: a brochure was designed to educate and inform Palau's policymakers and constituents about marine environmental issues.

2001

$5,000 to Waisalima Beach Resort Dive Centre (Fiji) for the establishment of the Kadavu Marine Ecology and Resource Center.

$5,000 to PPLH Puntondo (Indonesia) to raise awareness among local fishermen in Puntondo, Sulawesi, by involving them in coral reef surveying, education, monitoring, and protection.

$15,000 to the Wakatobi Foundation (Indonesia) for the purchase and installation of thirty mooring buoys around Tomia Island, Sulawesi. The buoys will help protect the fragile coral reefs from anchor damage caused by cargo boats and public ferries.

$12,500 to International Marinelife Alliance (Philippines) for renovations of the R/V Alliance, a marine research and conservation vessel used to help eradicate cyanide fishing in Southeast Asia.

$3,000 to the Seychelles Marine Parks Authority (Seychelles) to help with the establishment of the Silhouette Marine National Park. The grant was used to purchase an outboard engine to enable patrolling and enforcement in the park.

CORAL is a fiscal sponsor of Corail Vivant's prestigious $125,000 Goldman Prize, awarded to the founder, Bruno Van Peteghem, in recognition of his efforts to protect the coral reefs of New Caledonia from mining activities.

$10,000 to St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation (Netherlands Antilles) to replace patrol boat engines damaged in severe storms.

CORAL is the fiscal sponsor of Dr. Edgardo Gomez’s $150,000 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation, with which Dr. Gomez will further his work in reef assessment and innovative approaches to reef enhancement (Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines).

$2,000 to Green Reef (Belize) to replace mooring buoys lost from hurricane damage.

2000

$4,800 to Sulu Fund for Marine Conservation Foundation (Philippines) for the Batangas Field Project in Mabini and Tingloy, Batangas. The local community is tackling issues related to fisheries management, coral reef conservation, tourism, alternative livelihood, and the establishment of a well-managed marine reserve.

$10,000 to Centro Ecologico Akumal (Mexico) for turtle preservation and ecological awareness on the Yucatan peninsula, including educational "turtle walks" and presentations at local public schools.

$6,314 to Reef Check (Hong Kong) for general support of the 2001 Global Coral Reef Monitoring Program.

$1,900 to Bonaire National Marine Park (Netherlands Antilles) to replace mooring buoys lost during Hurricane Lenny.

$2,000 to Foundation for the Preservation of Klein Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles) to help purchase the island of Klein Bonaire, which was recently acquired and designated as a national park.

$2,593 to Saba Marine Park (Netherlands Antilles) to replace mooring buoys, dive equipment, tools, and outboard engines lost during Hurricane Lenny.

$5,000 to The Reef-World Foundation (Thailand) for education, training, and conservation programs in Thailand and $2,000 for Dive In to Earth Day activities.

$11,000 to Reef Check (Hong Kong) for general support of the 2000 Global Coral Reef Monitoring Program and Dive In to Earth Day activities.

$24,750 to International Marinelife Alliance (Philippines) toward the purchase of a marine research and conservation vessel used to help eradicate cyanide fishing in Southeast Asia.

1999

$8,000 to Bonaire National Marine Park (Netherlands Antilles) for the installation of mooring buoys.

CORAL is the fiscal sponsor of Norbert Wu's $150,000 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation, with which he will establish an extensive photographic library to raise public awareness of coral reef and marine conservation issues (Norbert Wu Productions, USA).

$5,000 to Sulu Fund for Marine Conservation Foundation (Philippines) for the Mabini Marine Sanctuary Extension and Support through Community Participation Program in the Philippines.

$24,170 to The Reef-World Foundation (Thailand) for education, training, and conservation programs in Thailand.

$690 to Hawai'i Wildlife Fund (USA) to send a delegate to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force conference in Guam.

1998

$10,000 to Bonaire Marine Park (Netherlands Antilles) for Tortuganan di Boneiru, a coral reef education and snorkeling program for children.

$5,000 to Reef Check (Hong Kong) for general support of the 1999 Global Coral Reef Monitoring Program.

$5,000 to Bay Islands Conservation Association (Honduras) for assistance with conservation efforts in the wake of Hurricane Mitch.

$14,000 to Belize Audubon Society for the purchase of two outboard motors for marine park patrol boats.

$5,000 to Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (Australia) to support the publication of Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 1998.

$5,000 to Reef Relief (USA) to create an educational Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary brochure.

$7,000 to Sulu Fund for Marine Conservation Foundation (Philippines) to fund an educational campaign for stakeholders of the Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park.

$10,000 to International Marinelife Alliance (Philippines) for the Regional Destructive Fishing Program to help eradicate cyanide fishing in Southeast Asia.

1995

$72,500 to Palau Conservation Society (Republic of Palau) for general coral reef conservation in the Republic of Palau.