Barefoot Conservation Science Report 2023
Introduction:
Barefoot Conservation is an Indonesian Yayasan (Yayasan Konservasi Jejak Kaki Indonesia: AHU-0004531.AH.01.04. Tahun 2018) working to conserve the unrivalled marine life of Raja Ampat, through monitoring, research and science training of the local community.
Barefoot has been running since 2012 and has been collecting data on reef health, manta populations, marine debris and crown of thorns starfish for several years, providing invaluable long-term datasets of the ecosystem over time.
In 2022 we commenced several new projects, most notably a reef restoration project, but also a black corals project, cyanobacteria monitoring and anchor damage monitoring. This year, we have continued improving and expanding our scientific output with the addition of a Coral Ecology and Coral bleaching monitoring project.
All of these projects will be outlined in more detail within the report below, including background, progress and goals for 2024.
Our Science team at Barefoot currently consists of Lead Scientist Lena Pollett (Plymouth University), Project Scientist Reyhan Arifin (Jenderal Soedirman University), Science Interns Max Kimble (Plymouth University), Corey Cathcart (Bournemouth University) and the Head of Science Josie Chandler (James Cook University) who is working remotely from Australia. Our Head of Operations (Iris Uijttewaal), Dive Manager (Matt Perrodou), and Divemasters (Ferry and Markus) are also heavily involved in the science projects.
This year we focused on both old and new projects. We have continued to progress with the long-term data collection of Reef Check, hitting our monitoring targets each quarter and adding bonus sites to our data bank. With the new projects, we have refined methodology & began using new software to analyse these exciting datasets. Furthermore, with the threat of a bleaching event in Raja Ampat at the end of 2023 we commenced a monitoring project to track the reef status during the anticipated warming.
One of the key projects we have been working towards this year has been monitoring the presence of cyanobacteria & macroalgae in the Dampier Strait, which we have recognised to be increasing dramatically in recent years. Rapid growth of cyanobacteria and macroalgae is an issue which has caused significant irreversible damage to coral ecosystems in the Caribbean and other parts of the Indo-Pacific. Therefore, we are currently working with the government to investigate this environmental change and exploring potential solutions.
This year has also seen new collaborations commence which we hope to build on further in 2024. This report provides an update on the progress of our major science projects in 2023.
All of the projects currently running at Barefoot Conservation, collect observational data only, and the results of the research remain within Indonesia. Correct permissions were sought from both Chief of Arborek Village, Bapa Juan Mambrasar , and Head of BLUD, Pak Safry, before commencing any of the projects mentioned in this report.
For any questions regarding the data, findings or projects mentioned in this report, please contact our Head of Science, Josie Chandler, via:-
REPORTS (click links below)
Barefoot Conservation Science Progress Report 2023-2024 (English)
Barefoot Conservation Science Progress Report 2023-2024 (Bahasa Indonesia)