Seagrass Ecosystem Services Project
To support community-led conservation, the project develops business models that provide sustainable sources of financing to community groups leading seagrass conservation efforts, and encourages communities to share their stories in order to raise the profile and change the narratives on seagrass and dugong conservation.
This is the first project in the Indo-Pacific region delivering site-specific assessments of seagrass health and threats, and to evaluate the ecosystem services seagrass provides
Seagrass Ecosystem Services Project
To support community-led conservation, the project develops business models that provide sustainable sources of financing to community groups leading seagrass conservation efforts, and encourages communities to share their stories in order to raise the profile and change the narratives on seagrass and dugong conservation.
This is the first project in the Indo-Pacific region delivering site-specific assessments of seagrass health and threats, and to evaluate the ecosystem services seagrass provides
Timor-Leste
144 drop-camera points, 214 in-situ points, 83 spotter points
Thailand
145 drop-camera points, 448 in-situ points, 250 spotter points
Philippines
445 drop-camera points, 180 in-situ points, 69 spotter points
Indonesia
424 drop-camera points , 8 in-situ points , 37 spotter points
Project Title:
The ‘Conservation of biodiversity, seagrass ecosystems and their services – safeguarding food security and resilience in vulnerable coastal communities in a changing climate’ project (Seagrass Ecosystem Services project)
Managed by the Secretariat of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout their Range of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS Dugong MOU) and funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI)
Implementing Partner: Marine Research Foundation, Blue Ventures Conservation, Edith Cowan University (ECU)
National Partners: Blue Ventures Timor-Leste, YAPEKA (Indonesia), Save the Andaman Network (Thailand), MareCet (Malaysia), Zoological Society of London (Philippines), and Community Centred Conservation (Philippines)
Sub Contractors: Seagrass-Watch, Project Seagrass, Murdoch University
This is the first project in the Indo-Pacific region delivering site-specific assessments of seagrass health and threats, and to evaluate the ecosystem services seagrass provides.
Local NGOs and coastal communities at the project sites are empowered to assess seagrass by the project’s technical and scientific experts, who offer technical tools and capacity building throughout the lifetime of the project. They work together to assess the ecosystem services provided by their specific seagrass meadows, such as fishery production and blue carbon.
As a project partner, Seagrass-Watch will support the national partners to assess the extent and health of seagrass meadows, applying an initial mapping phase followed by long-term monitoring.
To support community-led conservation, the project develops business models that provide sustainable sources of financing to community groups leading seagrass conservation efforts, and encourages communities to share their stories in order to raise the profile and change the narratives on seagrass and dugong conservation.