NFWF grants $736K to restore coral reefs in PR/USVI
The grants were awarded through the Coral Reef Stewardship Fund.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced a combined grant of $736,300 to two entities in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to support efforts aimed at improving the health and resilience of coral reefs.
The nonprofit awarded a total of $2 million through nine grants to organizations in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the USVI. These grants will generate nearly $1.9 million in matching contributions, bringing the total conservation impact to close to $3.9 million.
In Puerto Rico, Protectores de Cuencas will receive $559,400 — the largest of all the allocations — for its project titled “Engaging Landowners and Communities in Riparian Restoration in Western Puerto Rico.”
The initiative focuses on establishing riparian forest buffers on 60 acres of working lands along Río Loco, as recommended in the Guánica Bay Watershed Management Plan. The project aims to engage local management partners and involve five to 10 landowners, along with 400 volunteers, in planting 18,000 trees.
With $716,400 in matching funds, the total project value is $1,275,800, according to the NFWF.
Meanwhile, the University of Florida will receive $176,900 for its project, “Planning and Capacity-Building for Coral Reef Disturbance Response and Recovery (USVI, PR).”
The funding will help “provide capacity for coral rescue planning and develop a coral rescue network to support coral reef disturbance recovery in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The project will create a road map to enhance coral genetic diversity, improve adaptation, sustain ecosystem function and bolster resilience.”
The University of Florida will provide $180,400 in matching funds, bringing the total project value to $357,300.
The grants were awarded through the Coral Reef Stewardship Fund (CRSF), a partnership between NFWF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Aramco.
The nine funded projects address NFWF’s primary priorities for coral conservation, including threat reduction to priority reef sites, coral reef emergency response preparation and restoration, and increased management capacity in coral conservation.
The CRSF has supported initiatives aimed at reducing land-based pollution, increasing fish stocks of key species, responding to episodic events, and conducting applied research based on needs identified by coral reef management authorities.
