Meet two ocean guardians who are working with villagers to protect an aquatic paradise

Just hours from Singapore lies an underwater wonder: the Coral Triangle. This vast ocean expanse, stretching 6 million sq km between Asia and Australia, boasts the world’s richest diversity of coral and fish species. Its vibrant marine life supports over 120 million people’s livelihoods. However, it faces threats from global warming and destructive fishing practices, endangering its delicate ecosystem.

To protect this aquatic paradise, Mission Blue Hope Spot Champions Rili Djohani and Wira Sanjaya have been working closely with local communities to preserve and restore its habitats, change ingrained habits and educate people about marine conservation. 

In 2010, Ms Djohani co-founded non-profit organisation Coral Triangle Center (CTC) in Bali. She was driven to form the CTC after seeing the triangle’s coral reefs and marine life fading under the warming waters and other threats. 

Soon after, the CTC collaborated with the Indonesian government and communities to establish the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area (MPA), spanning about 200 sq km around the islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan, off Bali’s southern coast. The three islands are within the Coral Triangle.

The partners divided the MPA into areas for marine tourism, seaweed farming, fishing, and sacred grounds to honour local religious sites and traditions. This has helped to safeguard the MPA’s nearly 300 coral species, making up over three-quarters of all known ones, 570 species of reef fish, including manta rays, and other underwater life, from human pressures

By 2020, CTC’s management of the area was so successful that global non-profit Mission Blue recognised it as a Hope Spot. Since 2014, Swiss watchmaker Rolex, through its Perpetual Planet Initiative, has joined Mission Blue, founded by legendary oceanographer and Rolex Testimonee Sylvia Earle, to designate ecologically crucial ocean areas as Hope Spots to encourage their legal protection.  

CTC has also capitalised on its experience and expertise to set up six other MPAs across the Coral Triangle. The seven MPAs now span 3,870 sq km of critical marine ecosystems.

It has also developed 26 training modules, on topics such as MPA principles and planning, sustainable fisheries and marine science, that have enabled over 5,000 people to aid in marine conservation. 

Both Ms Djohani and Mr Sanjaya, who are CTC’s executive director and Bali project manager respectively, have their eye on the Coral Triangle’s longevity, with the Nusa Penida Hope Spot as a shining example.

Ms Djohani shares: “With the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative and Mission Blue as our partners, we’re very hopeful that we can ensure its benefits for future generations.”

Saving the “lungs of the sea”

Ms Djohani, a Dutch-educated marine ecologist now based in Indonesia, has logged many hours diving in areas from the North Sea to the Caribbean. Yet for her, nothing rivals the vibrant underwater world in the Coral Triangle. 

She explains: “I’ve dived all over Indonesia, and am always amazed by the beauty under water. The sheer diversity of the corals, the colours, the reef fish, the iconic species – all of it is mind-blowing. I realised this is where I belong.” 

Coral reefs, often called the “lungs of the sea” generate over half of the oceans’ oxygen. The local reefs in the Coral Triangle, however, stand out for their resilience to ocean warming, potentially due to cool, nutrient-rich upwellings from the Indian Ocean. Their unique adaptations could offer valuable insights for global coral conservation efforts. 

By attaching sand-coated steel frames to the ocean floor and fragments of live corals to them to spur growth, Ms Djohani and her CTC team are restoring lost reefs, too. The organisation has installed over 400 such structures and transplanted about 6,000 coral fragments, giving new life to 240 sq m of damaged reefs.

Other CTC efforts centre around local communities whom Mr Sanjaya notes, “will be most affected by the loss of these ecosystems, and so are those who will benefit the most from the effective management of the marine conservation area”. He also adds that local participation is key to any conservation strategy’s long-term success. 

Ms Djohani illustrates CTC’s impact through a successful initiative. From local communities harvesting mangroves for timber, there’s a sustainable shift in livelihood practices. Ms Djohani says: “Nowadays, they bring tourists through the mangroves, and get more benefit from preserving the forests.” 

Furthermore, CTC has teamed up with local community group Satya Posana Nusa to plant 10,000 mangroves across the Nusa Penida MPA.

The organisation has also trained other groups to manage the MPA, survey wildlife and revive the traditional practice of seaweed farming, among other eco-friendly livelihoods. Ms Djohani highlights: “We got really great support early on from the local communities, which has been pivotal for the MPA.”

Shaping a wave of change 

With the future in mind, CTC is also tapping on wayang samudra, the ancient Indonesian art of shadow puppetry, to remind local residents, especially children, of how the Balinese people have paid respects to Dewa Baruna, god of the sea who maintains harmony between the land and ocean. It hopes this will nurture the next generation of ocean guardians. 

“We perform a lot on the issues of marine pollution and plastics. It really engages the local communities, adults and children alike, to think and talk about what they can contribute to finding solutions for these problems. Conservation is all about people and bringing in local communities,” Ms Djohani says. 

Just as the CTC empowers coastal populations, Rolex has supported pioneering explorers for nearly a century, encouraging them to push the boundaries of human endeavours.

The firm has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet, committing for the long term to assist individuals and organisations using science to understand and address today’s environmental challenges. 

Rolex stepped up this engagement in 2019 with its Perpetual Planet Initiative, initially focused on the Rolex Awards for Enterprise and longstanding partnerships with Mission Blue and the National Geographic Society.

The Initiative now has a diverse and expanding portfolio of over 30 partnerships focused on ocean conservation, wilderness protection and the living world’s preservation, including with Rewilding Argentina and Rewilding Chile, which protect landscapes in South America, Under The Pole expeditions for underwater exploration, and many Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureates.

Rolex also supports organisations and initiatives that are fostering the next generations of explorers, scientists and conservationists through scholarships and grants. These include the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society and The Rolex Explorers Club Grants.

Ms Djohani and Mr Sanjaya envision the Nusa Penida Hope Spot as a model for change. Supported by Mission Blue and the Perpetual Planet Initiative, it demonstrates how marine conservation can support local livelihoods. This approach echoes Rolex’s philosophy of safeguarding and preserving the planet for the generations to come. 

Mr Sanjaya says: “As more people get involved, I’m more optimistic that we can push for healthier seas.”

We The Earth