Foundation Projects
Using technology to improve citizen science monitoring of coral reefs in Indonesia
CoralWatch, The University of Queensland
CoralWatch integrated volunteer monitoring of coral reefs with education about coral reef conservation. Volunteers worldwide collect data on reef health using the Coral Health Chart and then submit this online to our global database.
Indonesia is home to the world's most diverse reefs and raising awareness about threats to these reefs, has been a key focus of CoralWatch.
Through this project we developed new mobile phone interfaces that improve the availability of education materials in both Bahasa Indonesia and English. The new apps also provide enhanced opportunities for people in Indonesia to upload Coral Health Chart data to the CoralWatch database without the need to access computers. In addition, an improved data feedback system for stakeholders and users of the CoralWatch database was developed in this project.
A new map on our website provides a global overview of Coral Health Chart data indicating surveys with a potential bleaching risk. When a survey that indicates potential coral bleaching risk is submitted online, a new semi-automated system provides coral bleaching email alerts, encouraging local action. The CoralWatch team travelled to Indonesia to run workshops (attended by >225 people) to launch the apps in the final month of the project.
