Protect & Restore a Tropical Marine Protected Area

ABOUT US

SORCE is the Sustainable Oceanic Research, Conservation, and Education CIC. We are a non-profit conservation organisation focusing our efforts initially in the Secret Gilis of South Lombok. 

We are dedicated to ensuring a positive future for our marine habitats and wildlife, achieved through scientific action and public engagement. SORCE’s ultimate goal is to restore and protect the marine environment throughout Indonesia, creating healthy, productive, and valuable ecosystems for the benefit of all stakeholders and future generations.

Having opened our facility in Indonesia in the summer of 2019 we have worked tirelessly to establish projects and nurture partnerships for the benefit of the Marine Park that we operate within - GITA NADA. These projects have already become an essential part of the management plan for the protection of this region's marine life and we are exceptionally proud of the rate at which they have already grown and expanded. This could not have been achieved without our growing network of supporters and we want to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!

This year marks our 5th Birthday, and so we are reaching out to our friends and supporters around the world to ask for your help in taking our projects to the next level! We have several projects with different conservation focuses so no matter what you are passionate about, we have something for you!

CORAL REEF RESTORATION

We are fortunate enough to be based in the Coral Triangle - the planet's most diverse and abundant marine region - and it's all thanks to the coral reefs that thrive here. Coral reefs cover only 1% of our ocean floor but contain 25% of all marine life, and influence even more! They are vital ecosystems for life under the water, and as such, critical for life on Earth.

Did you know coral reefs protect coastal regions from storms, flooding, and coastal erosion by absorbing 97% of wave energy and reducing wave height by 84%. They are also important carbon sinks thanks to the algae cells in their tissues which store carbon through photosynthesis. However, climate change, ocean acidification, physical damage from boats, anchors, and people, destructive fishing practices, pollution, and diminishing biodiversity are all threatening their survival. 25% of reefs have already been destroyed with estimates as high as 90% by 2050. Recent assessments indicate that 88% of reefs in Southeast Asia are at risk.  

Here at SORCE we actively propagate corals and restore degraded reef areas. By installing coral nurseries we can grow a vast and diverse stock of coral that we can use for restoration by fragmenting pieces from the nurseries and transplanting them onto permanent artificial reef structures. 

The nurseries require weekly maintenance to keep them healthy and ensure the corals are growing well. Once they reach an appropriate size we can break them into fragments for transplantation. Fragments of the same colony are planted together so that they can re-fuse to form a bigger colony over time. 

The fragments get planted onto artificial reef structures, comprised of either metal frames or our interlocking concrete MARS blocks, which provide a secure substrate for attachment. Over time, they will completely grow over the frame or block leaving a beautiful and vibrant new reef area.

Since we launched our coral restoration project we have deployed over 400 artificial reef structures, across five restoration sites. These are populated with over 10,000 coral fragments which were grown in our very own coral nurseries. Over the years we have expanded our nursery sites and now have 48 different structures with over 3300 parent corals - each of which can provide 5 - 20 coral fragments!

The potential is huge! But we need your help to keep it going.

For every £1 you donate to our coral restoration project, we will plant a coral fragment in your name. Want to contribute more? Why not sponsor an entire frame or MARS block for £30? That's an entire colony all thanks to you! We'll even put your name tag on it!

MANGROVE FOREST RESTORATION

Mangrove forests are essential and productive ecosystems that provide numerous goods and services to the marine environment and local communities. Not only do mangroves provide essential nursery habitats for juvenile fish and invertebrates, without which our fish populations would be drastically reduced, but they also provide a range of other benefits for humans that are less well known amongst the public. Did you know that mangrove habitats provide air and water purification, and through this act as a natural antibiotic for the oceans, removing harmful substances that cause disease in corals? They also secure the soil along coastlines, preventing coastal erosion and protecting our coastal communities and infrastructure from subsidence, storm damage, and flooding. They are amazing carbon sinks with recent studies showing that they have the capacity to absorb and store up to 4x the amount of carbon as rainforest trees when compared pound to pound. They also have rapid growth rates meaning they can begin to seriously reduce carbon levels that much sooner.

Devastatingly, 54% of Asian mangroves have disappeared in the last 20 years - that's over 25% of all mangroves on our planet! But there is hope, the decline is slowing thanks to restoration projects like ours that are replanting mangroves along tropical coastlines. Through our Mangrove project, we assess areas of degraded forest and then restore them with a diverse range of mangrove tree species.

We start by collecting native seeds called propagules which we then plant and nurture in our nursery. Once they are ready, and when the wet season rains begin, we outplant them into the restoration sites.

So far, we have planted over 70,000 mangrove trees across our planting sites! We are achieving an incredible average survival rate of over 85%!  We have also recently secured permission for a brand new planting site, and it's a big one!

So if you want to turn the tide so that we start gaining back mangrove forest habitat, or if you are worried about your carbon footprint, then planting mangroves is the thing to do! Not in Indonesia? Not a problem! We'll plant mangroves on your behalf! 

For every £1 donation that we receive, we will plant a tree in your name.  

PLASTIC POLLUTION

14 million tons of plastic waste are dumped in our oceans every year, and 80% of that comes from the land. By 2050 it is predicted that our oceans will hold more plastic than fish! 

With Indonesia being the 3rd largest contributor to plastic waste in general, and thanks to its nature as an archipelago, the world’s largest contributor to oceanic plastic waste, we are in the perfect place to help with this issue! Many of our friends ask us why plastic pollution is such a problem here and the answer is complex. It's partly habit and a lack of knowledge about the dangers of plastic waste, but it is also a lack of infrastructure - there are no bin-men who come and remove waste each week. Most of the people living here do not even have bins in their homes, let alone any way of emptying it once it is full. The waste is dumped, or burned - neither of which are good options. The other issue is the economy. The tragic reality is that many of the people who live in low-economy areas can not afford to buy in bulk, so must buy single portions of things like coffee, or water, or sugar, which maximises packaging.

Through our community outreach program, we are trying to find ways to tackle these root issues, to provide alternative methods for waste disposal, and effective alternatives to single-use items. Meanwhile, we are also doing all we can to remove plastic waste from the ocean, wherever we can, and employing sustainable methods to recycle it.

To date, we have collected over 6,000 kg of plastic waste from beaches and coral reefs. Working with our partners this waste is broken down and recycled as fuel or products that can be used by the local community, or sold to raise money to support them. 

For every £5 you donate we can collect 1kg of plastic debris from along the beaches, in the mangroves, and under the water. 

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Corals, mangroves, even seagrasses - they are all integral parts of the ocean system and without them, the oceans die - and with it, the benefits we gain from it.

The 'Blue Economy' is the 7th largest economy in the world, with $2.5 trillion each year being brought in by ocean-linked sectors. 3 billion people around the world depend on the ocean for their livelihood and food security. Marine species make up the primary source of protein for millions of people all around the world, particularly in coastal regions and low-economy communities. With Indonesia being an archipelago, this is absolutely the case here - but in many of the coastal communities, sustainability is a luxury that they do not know how to afford.

Many of the people we meet know that there is a problem. Coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds - all of these ecosystems provide a fundamental service as a fish and invertebrate nursery site, and they are disappearing. Fishermen are finding less and less fish, gatherers are finding fewer crustaceans and molluscs in the shallows to harvest, and it's not just because of overfishing, but also because the habitats they need for reproduction are degrading. Something needs to change.

Here at SORCE, through our community outreach program, we collaborate with schools, community groups, and members of the public to raise awareness and provide education on the problems being faced, and the importance of sustainability. 

But it is not enough to just teach people what not to do and why. These communities are highly impoverished, and can not afford to lose their livelihoods, no matter how unsustainable they may be. We need to provide alternative sources of income, and the skills required to allow people to pursue them.

It is also essential that the changes made do not compromise the ability of these communities to preserve their culture, traditions, and way of life. At the core of this program is a need for collaboration and mutual understanding. We must learn from them as much as we teach. Through our program, we work hand in hand with local people to develop methods to make their ways of life more sustainable, without compromising what makes them sacred.

MARINE PARK MONITORING AND EXPANSION

The ocean is the world's largest ecosystem, covering 71% of our planet, in one continuous World Ocean. It plays host to 80% of the planet’s biodiversity, supplies us with 50% of Earth's oxygen, absorbs 31% of carbon emissions caused by human activities, AND IT'S DYING.

Marine Protected Areas (MPA) are one of the best methods we have for protecting our oceans and allowing them the time and reprieve they need to recover. By restricting fishing, pollution, boat traffic, tourism, and more within areas that have high biodiversity or endangered habitats and species we can make a huge difference to the health of our marine world. 

Here at SORCE, we are located within a young MPA called GITA NADA which covers an impressive 21,000 Ha of marine space. Established in 2018, very little is known regarding the health or diversity of the region. There is a lack of monitoring, a lack of enforcement of regulations, and a widespread lack of knowledge within local communities about its existence or parameters. However, we are working tirelessly to rectify this. 8 Months ago we launched a project focused on collecting extensive data on the diversity within the marine park, and the health of the coral reefs here. This data allows us to make strong recommendations to the government regarding the management and classification of different areas within the MPA. We even have evidence that the Marine park should be expanded to incorporate a further 17,000 Ha.

But we need your support! There are more areas that we still need to assess, and ongoing monitoring is required to determine the long-term condition of these critical coral reef regions. Our data can help to improve the legislation for the marine park, and increase the size of the protected area - but without enforcement this means nothing.

Enforcement in itself is costly, but moreover, it is unethical to enforce laws that the community does not know exist. As such we also need your help to launch the next stage of the project which involves a large-scale community outreach and education program. With your support, we can launch our train-the-trainer outreach program and provide the resources needed for dedicated people to raise awareness within their own villages across the GITA NADA region. We will provide teaching resources, signs, and event sponsorship so that the people who live here can be given the information they need to maintain their livelihoods within the marine park area in a sustainable, legal way.

WE BELIEVE...

...that if we are to minimise, or better still reverse, the negative effects that we are causing for the amazing organisms and ecosystems that we share the Earth with, this can only be achieved through research, conservation, and education.

We refuse to let ours be the generation that fails to act. We can no longer avoid the truth about the state our natural world is in, and if we keep making excuses to do nothing then we will very soon be facing a reality where too much destruction has been caused for us to recover.

So ask yourself: How many ecosystems must collapse? How many species must go extinct, so that our children never get to admire or befriend them? How long can we pretend that our ‘progress’ is without consequence?

IT’S STILL NOT TOO LATE.

This Earth is our home and we have a responsibility and an obligation to take care of it – not just for the species we share it with, but for ourselves and our future generations. We do not have to accept the outcome we are heading towards.

Make no mistake, the battle for our planet has begun, and together is how we win.