Coral Reef Restoration to Improve Ecosystem Services - Policy Brief

Coral reef restoration is becoming a popular tool to assist the recovery of damaged coral reefs. Over the last twenty years, several methods have been developed and applied with varying levels of success. This document presents guidance on applying coral reef restoration to sustain ecosystem services amid reef decline and climate stress, positioning it as a complementary tool within threat abatement measures, as outlined in a UNEP brief. It defines restoration as active interventions such as direct transplantation, coral gardening, larval propagation, and substrate manipulation used proactively or reactively to support recovery in high-value areas. It identifies challenges including limited scale, weak integration with mitigation, monitoring shortfalls, and weak stakeholder engagement, and warns restoration must not excuse further degradation. It sets goals across coastal protection, fisheries, tourism, stewardship, ecosystem function, biodiversity, climate adaptation, and disturbance response, and urges SMART objectives with long term monitoring.