Donation supports CCMI’s coral restoration efforts
(CNS Local Life): The Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) has recently received a US$68,000 donation from the Aall Foundation towards its Coral Restoration Programme. With increasing water temperatures threatening coral reef health, CCMI said in a press release that its team knows “they must progress their restoration efforts at pace, to be able to contribute to protecting coral reefs in the Cayman Islands and across the Caribbean region”.
CCMI launched a renewed focus on restoration projects in December 2018, at a private dinner hosted by Prince Edward, CCMI’s patron, at St James’s Palace in London.
Sophia Harris, managing partner of Bedell Cristin Cayman Partnership and an Aall Foundation trustee, has overseen the donation. “The Aall Foundation has over the past 30 years strived to have a positive impact globally by contributing to other charities to improve lives and our environment as effectively and as efficiently as possible,” Harris said in a CCMI press release, as she noted the donation to CCMI’s Reef Restoration Programme in Little Cayman.
“It is hoped that with the increased awareness of the endangerment of our reefs and our very ecosystems, in general, CCMI and indeed any initiatives to improve these conditions, will gain more support,” Harris said, adding, “It is hoped that the work they do will not only positively impact Cayman but will ultimately provide useful data and research, globally. We are confident that our funding this year to CCMI is an excellent charitable contribution and investment in improving our ecosystem and therefore our own future.”
CCMI’s restoration project was launched in partnership with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment in 2012. CCMI now has three nurseries and has scaled up their focus on finding solutions to improving the coral restoration process, underpinned with scientific methodology, so it can be utilised as an intervention strategy in Cayman and throughout the Caribbean, the release stated. Support from local organisations such as the Aall Foundation makes a significant difference to projects at CCMI.
“The Aall Foundation funding comes at a critical time for CCMI, as our research programme is working hard to unlock the secrets of coral resiliency, embarking on a deliberate five-year research agenda to grow a more resilient and robust community of corals,” said CCMI president Dr Carrie Manfrino.
“CCMI and our marine field station in Little Cayman affords modern laboratory facilities, an unspoiled coral reef ecosystem, and significant scientific affiliations – which are key to building CCMI’s capacity to advance the frontiers of knowledge about coral regeneration,” she added, thanking the Aall Foundation for their support.
Category: Community, Donations, Environment, Local News, Marine Environment
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