UK funds initiative to protect BVI coral reefs

The UK Darwin Plus Initiative has provided funding for a new project to bolster the territory’s capacity to monitor and research coral reefs using advanced imaging technology.

The project is being administered through H. Lavity Stoutt Community College’s (HLSCC) Centre for Applied Marine Studies. The school has received specialised underwater photography equipment, advanced software licenses, online training modules and data storage infrastructure to carry out reef monitoring and research.

Eleven local experts from HLSCC, the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources & Climate Change and the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands have been trained — marking a new era of local expertise in reef monitoring using high-resolution mapping and modelling.

“Photogrammetry is a powerful tool for marine conservation,” said Susan Zaluski, HLSCC’s Director of Marine & Maritime Studies. “But it also has broad applications in other fields. As we develop training modules, we hope to attract students not just from marine sciences, but also from areas like computer science—disciplines that the public may not immediately associate with marine conservation.”

With this new initiative, HLSCC and its partners said they believe they’re not only contributing vital data for reef management but also redefining how the BVI trains the next generation of marine professionals—blending technology, education, and conservation to ensure the territory’s marine biodiversity thrives for decades to come.

The Caribbean region is home to approximately 10 percent of the world’s coral reefs, which are facing serious threats like overfishing, pollution, and coastal development, as well as the impacts of climate change.