Reef Brigades Micronesia: Rapid Response & Restoration after Storms or Other Disturbance Events – Guam, 2022

FSM and Palau managers practice securing fragments.

In November 2022, 24 coral reef managers and practitioners across Micronesia participated in the five-day Reef Brigades Micronesia Training: Rapid Response & Restoration after Storms or Other Disturbance Events in Guam. Reef Brigades have been developed and used with great success in Mexico and elsewhere in the Caribbean to implement rapid response and emergency restoration after storm events. Brigades (or teams) assess reef damage and carry out early in-water actions that support reef recovery. 

Participants from Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Kosrae, and Pohnpei), and Palau had previously attended four virtual training sessions in 2021 to learn the components of a governance structure needed to successfully implement Reef Brigades Response and Restoration protocols. The managers and practitioners completed five days of hands-on training including one day of theory, three days of hands-on practice on land and underwater, and a simulation drill on the final day to practice applying the new skills. 

Staff, partners, and hosts included: Calina Zepeda (TNC Mexico), Farron Taijeron and Liz Terk (TNC Micronesia), Whitney Hoot (Guam Coral Reef Initiative), Isaac Scott (TNC Diving and Boating), Julia Rose and Makalea Anue (TNC Hawaii) and Michelle Graulty and Petra MacGowan (TNC/RRN). 

This training was developed in partnership with Guam Coral Reef Initiative and funded through The Nature Conservancy’s partnership with NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program to support the effective management and protection of coral reefs.