Empowering change: our partnership with Tēnaka at the service of people, ocean and planet

Impact on the marine biodiversity

To maximize the resilience of the ecosystem and preserve the multiple benefits coral reefs provide to local communities, respecting the natural genetic diversity of coral reefs is essential.

This is the reason why we have planted 1000 corals, distributed as follow:  56% of Acropora , 27% of Porites, 18% of Fire coral.

Tēnaka’s marine biologists monitor the abundance and diversity of species present in our reef which are divided in three main categories:

• Bio-indicating species of fish (ex: butterfly fish) & invertebrates (ex: sea Urchin) are species that play a key role to maintain the health of the reef ecosystem. Hence, their presence (or absence) is a strong indicator of the health of the restored coral reefs.
• Keystone species such as shark, are at the top of the food chain, they help maintain the balance of the ecosystem.

Impact on the local communities

Coral reefs also have a huge impact on local communities offering both direct and indirect benefits. Reef-based related industry (tourism, scientists, fisheries…) create livelihoods and income for numerous people living in coastal area.

For example, thanks to the sponsorship of our coral reefs, Tēnaka employs three local scientists and trains 150 local volunteers throughout the year. This training helps the volunteers to understand coral reefs’ impacts, how to maintain coral nurseries and how to identify marine biodiversity.