Kenya turns to reef nurseries to combat coral bleaching

Coral reef restoration ranger Yatin Patel measures an artificial reef structure in the Indian Ocean near Shimoni, Kenya on Monday, June 13, 2022. The marine area off the coast of Kenya at Wasini Island, jointly managed by a foundation and the island’s community, has been planting over 8,000 corals a year since early 2010s and placed about 800 artificial reef structures in the channel in a bid to restore Wasini’s coral gardens. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Minutes away from the Kenyan mainland, the densely forested island of Wasini is one of several starting lines for coral reef restoration efforts in the western Indian Ocean.

On a rare calm day during the normally turbulent monsoon season, four divers, carrying measuring equipment, shoes and toothbrushes, descended in turn to the seabed reef restoration site in the Shimoni channel.