About This Project

This project aims to develop a sociotechnical toolkit for deploying meaningful biotechnologies in coral conservation, fostering equitable collaboration between local communities, scientists, and policymakers. Through stakeholder mapping, relational network visualization, and community power and capacity building workshops, we will co-create tools for inclusive decision-making and ethical interventions. The result: a toolkit to strengthen coral conservation movements worldwide.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Coral reefs are vital ecosystems under severe threat from climate change, pollution, and disease. Innovative biotechnologies, such as genetic modifications and microbiome engineering, offer promising solutions, but scaling these technologies is hindered by a lack of social license, regulatory clarity, and reciprocal power across all community stakeholders. Traditional top-down conservation methods often overlook the needs of local communities, and the political complexities of wildlife conservation add further challenges. Without thoughtful stakeholder engagement, these novel solutions may never be deployed.

To address these challenges, we must unite scientists, local communities, and policymakers to co-create mutually beneficial systems for coral conservation. To scale this work beyond this initial engagement, we’ll codify our approach into a toolkit of best practices that ensures meaningful biotechnologies are deployed transparently, sustainably, and equitably for all.

What is the significance of this project?

Coral reefs are rapidly collapsing, with 50% already lost or severely degraded due to rising ocean temperatures, acidification, and pollution. The IPCC warns that up to 90% could disappear by 2050 without urgent action. While technologies like genetic restoration and reef cooling show scientific promise, their success depends on meaningful engagement with local coastal communities. Effective conservation requires collaboration with these communities to ensure the deployment, monitoring, and long-term impact of interventions. This project addresses the need for an inclusive, stakeholder-driven approach by developing a Sociotechnical Toolkit. Our goal is to empower marginalized voices, build community power, and ensure conservation efforts are equitable, impactful, and rooted in local knowledge. Through this toolkit, we aim to foster a movement of sociotechnical practitioners who work with scientists, policymakers, and local leaders to create scalable, community-centered solutions.

What are the goals of the project?

In Mo'orea, Jamaica, and Micronesia, we will interview a range of stakeholders in local coral conservation. Qualitative interview insights will inform the creation of network maps, which will show the relationships, shared values, and power dynamics between different constituents. We’re also developing a digital tool and framework to turn these insights into quantitative data, like the strength of relationships and network connections (measured through freq. of interaction, length of relationship, resources invested in joint activities, etc), to scale this method beyond manual efforts. To make this data more accessible to the public, we’re designing a visual language that illuminates relationships and dynamics through color, shape, and size. Lastly, to apply these insights and strategies, we will run workshops based on Dr. Marshall Ganz’s "People, Power, & Change" framework to help communities build collective power and achieve their coral conservation goals.