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Bigsands Reef Restoration Pilot Project Proposal Dr. Thomas J. Goreau A small pilot reef restoration project, approximately 1.5 metres high and 3 meters across, is proposed in the back reef area of Bigsands Hotel Beach Union Island, Grenadines, Saint Vincent. The structure, built of ordinary construction steel rod, will receive 6 Volt DC power from a charger. This will grow limestone at the rate of several centimeters a year, and accelerated growth of corals will result in improved marine habitat and greatly increased fish populations. The old barrier reef had once been of Elkhorn. But this was almost entirely dead with few small patches of live coral. These corals died in an epidemic around 1980, and there has been only very modest signs of recovery since. There was considerable total loss of head corals and partial mortality on their tops to bleaching in 1998, the hottest year in history. This could be matched or exceeded in the next few years. The project will be completely safe to humans and all forms of marine life (see appendix), and will result in an ecotourism attraction for snorkelers because of the abundance of fish and corals. The project will use about as much electricity as a light bulb. Because corals on the artificial reef will be more resistant to environmental stresses, including high temperatures and pollution, they will form a "Coral Ark" which will have a reservoir of surviving corals when the next severe global warming bleaching event hits. The project will use the Biorock™ method, invented by Wolf Hilbertz and Thomas Goreau. Coral reef restoration projects using this method have are currently running in 9 countries in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Oceans, and have received the Maldives Environment Prize, the Theodore M. Sperry Award, top prize of the Society for Ecological Restoration for "pioneers and innovators, the KONAS Award for best community based coastal management project in Indonesia, the SKAL Award for best underwater ecotourism project in the world, and is nominated for prizes by the Pacific and Asia Tourism Organization and by the World Tourism Organization. More information on the successes of reef and fisheries restoration projects using this method in 11 countries can be found at www.globalcoral.org. The Global Coral Reef Alliance, a non-profit organization for the protection and sustainable management of coral reefs, is an IRS 501 (c) 3 tax exempt organization which has pioneered application of the Biorock™ method, and is fully authorized to use the method. A roll of steel fencing will be welded and the structure will be floated out to a site 80-90 meters from where the charger will be located in a nearby building. The structure will be placed on limestone bed rock or sand in the back reef, at a depth of about 2 meters. The structure and the small anode will be connected using triply insulated electrical cable that will be buried in the sand. Corals will be transplanted to the structure by a small team trained under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Goreau. These corals will be only from loose broken coral fragments found in the nearby reef. The structure will be periodically inspected and photographed by Eric Tomme. The Global Coral Reef alliance intends to supply the required materials for this project, and will donate its time and training gratis for this pilot project. Please find below a budget summary for the project. This lists all materials that will be purchased in SVG. Should Big Sands Resort have any of the materials listed below at their disposal, the donation such materials towards the project would be much appreciated. Also, as previously discussed, Big Sands Resorts will be requested to provide both the services of a wielder for a one to two day period, and a number of miscellaneous items/services listed as "in kind". The project proposal is contingent of the Global Coral Reef Alliance and/or Big Sands Resort obtaining all needed permits and approvals for reef restoration from the government of SVG. The GCRA volunteer team will be headed by Dr. Thomas Goreau and Nicholas Sammons. PROJECT COSTS Materials to be purchased in SVG for the project and the estimated costs are listed below. Please note that these are based on selected observed recent retail prices in Kingstown, and it is possible that the resort can obtain them from existing stocks or from other sources at a discount, reducing the cost. ITEM COST (EC$ approx.) Construction steel fencing roll, 200
meters Total costs EC$ 2995.00 Biorock™ is a trademark of Biorock, Inc. The Biorock™ Process is owned by
Biorock™, Inc. |
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