Environmental and Social Projects
Our Projects
What we currently do
Coral Spawning Monitoring
For sustainable coral restoration
We are collaborating with researchers and students from Banda Naira University (UBN) to monitor when corals are spawning at the Banda Islands. In 2023, we were funded for this project by experiment.com. We have established monitoring methods that are not impacting coral health and have learned a lot about the spawning patterns.
We are now testing how rearing coral larvae from spawned eggs can be utilized for coral restoration. This methos does not need any dislocating and transplanting of coral fragments but will produce new colonies of corals from many different species.
Scholarship Program
For students from Banda Naira University
We select 4-8 undergraduate students from Banda per year, teach them diving, how to conduct coral reef surveys and mentor them during their Bachelor thesis. We hope that this will shape well educated young adults with a passion for marine conservation.
Stopping the Coral Killing Sponge
Collaboration with BKKPN Kupang Satker Banda
In December 2022, we discovered the invasive sponge Terpios hoshinota at one site at the Banda Islands. This sponge can rapidly grow and cover large areas of reef, killing corals. Fortunately, the sponge was found sensitive to shading. We started covering it with recycled event banners in January 2023 and have seen first success: it disappeared completely below the banners. We have now covered all and are regularly monitoring. All this is conducted in collaboration with BKKPN Kupang Sakter Banda, KKP Banda and UBN.
Recycling Ship
Plastic pickup and recycling
Since April 2021, we are picking up plastic waste from all of the inhabited Banda Islands. This ship was kindly provided by the Tirto Utomo Foundation (Jakarta, Indonesia) and BandaSEA (Bonn, Germany). Our team on bord is training all villages visited in how to sort plastic and is preparing the collected plastic for further processing in our recycing facility or for shipping to Surabaya. We are extremely happy about this nw development.
Monitoring Effects of Marine Noise
Boat noise is impacting marine life
We are studying how marine animals are effected by boat noise. It is well known that whales, dolphins, and some fish get disturbed by noise. But what about all the invertebrates? Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany developed a setup to play underwater sound to marine organisms and monitor their behavior: all non-invasive, of course. We use this setup to study the behavior of ascidians and Mandarin fish when they are exposed to boat sounds. Step-by-step we will apply the methods to more organisms to reveal the real impact boat noise has on a coral reef.
Recycling Facility
Collection, sorting, shipping
Since 2019, we are operating a recycling facility on Banda Naira. Here, plastic waste gets collected, sorted and prepared for either shipping to Surabaya (recycling into plastic pellets) or for our on-sight pyrolysis machine. This Indonesian-built plant turns 10 kg of plastic (per run) into a total of in average 8.5 l fuel (diesel, bensin and kerosene). The best is that we only need the self-produced kerosene to heat up the machine. This fuel is used in our rubbish car and for our plastic shredder.
Mandarin Fish
Recognizing individual fish
Mandarin fish are a fascinating and popular species of dragonets. At the Banda Islands, plenty of them populate the natural harbor. We started identifying individuals fish based on their colorful body markings, in 2018. Using photo and video recordings to identify and re-identify fish has, so far, let to a list of more than 160 individuals. We are now working on a catalogue of individuals to study how the population develops over time.
Upcycling
Income for women
Together with our German partner BandaSEA e.V. we aim at creating a rubbish-free ocean and island. We, for example, have initiated the recycling of plastic packages into beautiful wallets. It is now done by groups of women from different villages and is working as a self-sustaining concept.
Download this info sheet to read about how it all started till where we are now.
Environmental Education
Children are future
Together with BandaSEA e.V. we have set up an environmental education center for children at Hatta Island. This non-profit project is contributing to a future in marine conservation at the Banda Islands. We also funded the first green school of Banda to become disposable-plastic-free. Here, children learn a responsible way of handling and reducing plastic waste.
Computer Classes
For children
Computer classes for young children are extremely important to keep up with the quickly changing world. Nonetheless, most children on Banda don't have access to computers. We helped launching first lab Kali-Kali in Nusantara village in 2016 and then started classes in Kampung Baru village in 2018. Classes in Kampung Baru are still ongoing.