About Coral Guardian

In 2010, Martin Colognoli and Guillaume Holzer created Coral Guardian, french based non-profit recognized of public interest in order to take advantage of their skills and experiences to benefit the environment.

Coral Guardian aims to promote innovative approaches to marine conservation and encourage sustainable patterns of development by deploying a wide scope of actions.

To do so, we develop realistic and optimistic solutions through joint programs that adress to everyone: local communities, general public, youth, businesses and communities.

We commit to the preservation of marine ecosystems through its four areas of intervention by seamlessly combining marine conservation, enhancement of biodiversity and sustainable development to improve the participation of local communities in accelerating development mechanisms of sustainable development in order to improve their livelihoods.

Coral Guardian developped a social-ecological approach to marine conservation based on fundamental needs and universal declaration of human rights (art. 22, 25 and 27) “All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development […] All peoples may freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources […] In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence”.

Overfishing and dynamite fishing in Indonesia Flores has seriously affected the balance of local coral ecosystems, causing the disruption of the food chain, which grows today fishermen to fish further, taking more risk having a both ecological and social impact than economic.

Our solution addresses a problem of food sovereignty of local populations, sustainable management of coral reefs and associated fisheries stocks, adaptation and resilience of corals to ocean warming (Van Oppen, 2015), preservation and enhancement of marine ecosystems , redevelopment of the local marine food chain, protection of marine biodiversity spot hots.

Our latest project in late 2013 to show optimal results: 1 year after the restoration of a reef in Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, there was an increase in cash of 195% and an increase in the average number of individuals per 100m² of 1501%.

“You tell me, I forget.

You teach me, I remember.

You involved me, I learn.” 

Benjamin Franklin

The concept of participatory conservation based on the idea that effective biodiversity protection depends on improving the living conditions of local populations, users of this nature, their participation in conservation and capacity to sustainably manage ecosystems they depend. But they need support, knowledge, and resources. We work to meet those needs and to train local communities in the sustainable management of coral ecosystems on scientific and practical bases.

Help us give them the means to preserve marine biodiversity. Coral Guardian has developed a model of regeneration of fish stocks based on 5 steps for awareness, training and empowerment of local people in sustainable management of ecosystem resources, having a direct impact on improving the living conditions of local communities dependent on fishing.

Specifically, the solution is to involve local communities and make the guardians of our ecosystems. We have developed a program in 5 steps is to educate and train fishermen in the sustainable management of coral reefs.

To understand the importance of coral reefs in the marine ecosystem, we articulate the awareness and training around the restoration of coral reefs, allowing involve them directly and tangibly.