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Global Coral
Reef Alliance Project Honored by Click here for Bali photos and project details. Cambridge, MA, November 21, 2002—Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA) has been recognized by Skål International, a worldwide tourism association, for the Pemuteran Coral Regeneration Karang Lestari project in northern Bali, Indonesia. The Karang Lestari project won top honors as the best Underwater Ecotourism project worldwide. This project is one of many undertaken by the Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA) to restore damaged coral reefs around the world.
The Skal International Ecotourism Awards were presented at the organization’s 2002 annual World Congress in Cairns, Australia, November 6, 2002. This award marks the United Nation’s International Year of Ecotourism and is one of several recent awards for projects built by the Global Coral Reef Alliance. I Gede Ardika, Indonesia's Minister of Tourism, at right, hands the award to the Kepala Adat of Pemuteran, the village’s traditional leader of customary law and religion. In the Pemuteran Coral Regeneration Project, scientists from the Global Coral Reef Alliance used a technology known as Mineral Accretion or the Biorock™ Process. With this technology, GCRA scientists successfully grew natural coral formations on artificial structures to restore living corals to reefs previously damaged by bombing and cyanide fishing. The Biorock™ method dramatically increases coral growth rates, providing fish with a natural habitat. As a result, dense swarms of fish in and around the Pemuteran Bay coral nurseries have become a major focus of near-shore diving and snorkeling.
Agung Prana, owner of Taman Sari Hotel, where most GCRA projects are located. His name, Agung, the highest and most sacred Volcano on Bali, can only be held by people who are of pure royal descent on both sides.
The Pemuteran village delegation at the award ceremony. Narayana (Randall Dodge) is at right, and Agung Prana is at his right.
For more details and photos of the Bali project see: http://globalcoral.org/Pemuteran%20Artificial%20Reef%20Project.htm The Skal award for international ecotourism is the fourth time GCRA has been recognized for its contributions to marine reef restoration. The Pemuteran Bay project was awarded the KONAS Indonesian National Award for best community-based coastal zone management earlier this year. Previously, the Ihuru Barnacle reef restoration project in the Maldives won the Theodore Sperry Award, the top prize of the Society for Ecological Restoration, as well as the Maldives Environment Award. About Skal Skal International is a professional, international tourism industry movement represented by more than 500 chapters in 40 countries. It aims to develop friendship and a common purpose among its 20,000 members, promoting mutual understanding and fostering goodwill among peoples of the world and the communities in which they live. See Skål International’s Website: http://www.skal.org. About Biorock™ Technology In a Biorock reef, a low voltage electrical current (completely safe for swimmers and marine life) is applied to a submerged conductive (metal) structure. The electric current causes dissolved mineral crystals in seawater to precipitate and adhere to that structure. The deposited material is similar in composition to that of natural coral reefs and tropical sand beaches. See: http://www.globalcoral.org About GCRA The Global Coral Reef Alliance™, GCRA, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group made up of scientists and other dedicated professionals who work with foundations, governments and private firms to build, restore and maintain coral reefs, nurseries and marine sanctuaries. Projects include restoration and construction of coral reefs for mariculture and tourism as well as breakwaters for shore protection. For more information contact: Global Coral Reef Alliance, 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139 USA; E-mail: goreau@bestweb.net; Web site: http://www.globalcoral.org. Biorock™ is a trademark of Biorock, Inc., ©Global Coral Reef Alliance, 2002 |
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