Bleaching to Breathing: Kenya’s Transformation of its Dying Coral Reefs

Within Kenya’s shores lies an extraordinary resource integral to the country’s economic welfare: coral reefs. Kenya’s shoreline houses around 250 species of coral, which provide for 95 percent of Kenya’s total marine fish catch and fuel Kenya’s nature-based tourism industry, with tourism contributing to 7.4 percent of its GDP. However, reefs are equally as vulnerable to the industries they sustain. Due to the ineffective regulation of open-access fishing, Kenya faced a large-scale overfishing crisis in the 1990s that bleached and destroyed an estimated 50 to 90 percent of its coral reefs. While serious environmental and economic damage have ensued, local non-profits and international organizations have successfully restored some reefs. Kenya boasts the second most successful coral restoration project in Africa, surpassed only by the Seychelles. Kenya’s restoration efforts must expand into the present among the intensified threats of climate change and enhanced natural resource vulnerability. More critically, policymakers and activists must continue balancing coral conservation with sustainable fishing practices to fully exploit, and protect, one of its most important sources of biodiversity. 

Coral bleaching is a phenomenon that extends beyond Kenya. Due to a warming climate and rising ocean temperatures, the coral are releasing their zooxanthella, a type of algae that provides them the color that is necessary for their survival which gives them a source of nutrition. It has been predicted that 90 percent of the world’s coral reefs will suffer from mass bleaching by 2050. Furthermore, the dumping of sewage into oceans, coupled with plastic pollution, has destroyed reefs and depleted many of the fish populations that depend on them. During the El Nino event that occurred during the 1990s, Kenya saw its bleached coral increase by 50 to 80 percent). A particularly serious bleaching event took place in 1998, in which 78 percent of Kenya’s coral turned white after losing a significant portion of its zooxanthellae. The lack of coral, which provides an ecosystem to other marine life, accentuated the disappearance of fish species within Kenya’s waters. This has led to a persistent decline in catches by fishers in the area, amplifying local poverty rates and negatively impacting the economy.

Another issue that has contributed to the decline of Kenyan coral reefs is the impact of local fishers within the area, which rely on fish as a source of income. 600,000 people work in the fishery sector, with many subsistence fishers, as well as commercial. One of the most significant issues is overfishing, with the practice of destructive practices such as the use of poison or dynamite within fishing happening because of a lack of knowledge and awareness of the impact on the environment and fish populations. As a result, this has led to accelerated coral loss and a decrease in fish stocks, which has further impoverished fishers within the Swahili coast. 

To address the confounding impacts of climate change and overfishing, many initiatives have been put into action to combat coral bleaching and regenerate new coral. However, this can be expensive and many corals can die. One of the main tools is coral nurseries, in which small pieces of coral are nurtured on sheltered structures until they can be rehabilitated in existing reefs. Additionally, conservationists are selectively interbreeding coral to grow faster and withstand harsh conditions, such as warmer waters. The Kenyan government has supported these initiatives by constructing Marine Protected Areas, creating national marine parks in five Kenyan cities, and establishing various no-fishing zones along Kenya’s shoreline, called Tengefus, Swahili for “set aside”. As a result of these joint efforts, coral cover increased by 25 percent from 2013 to 2020, despite two mass bleaching events due to an increase in thermal temperatures in the water. Additionally, due to the country’s poorly funded education system, the effectiveness of scientific management remains low. This deficiency prevents Kenya from fully using its resources to mitigate thermal issues and restore coral reefs most effectively. 

Despite the hurdles impeding comprehensive coral preservation, Kenyans throughout coastal communities have taken conservation efforts into their own hands. Women in Wasini Island, which had severe coral bleaching in 1998, which rests in Kenya’s Southeastern landmass and has a heavy reliance on tourism and fishing, have been cultivating seagrass to regenerate triggerfish populations, which shows a healthier reef, with a return of sea life. Their efforts have largely succeeded: activists have planted over 3,000 corals, and fish populations have returned. One non-profit, Oceans Alive in Vipingo, Kenya, has planted over 15,000 coral within the Kiriwutu area, an hour-long ride away from Mombasa. This is a sign of hope, demonstrating that it is possible to replenish nature in places where it has significantly diminished while fulfilling local economic needs. 

Tourism is a significant component of Kenya's economy, especially around the coast, contributing to 8.2 percent of Kenya’s GDP and employing 1.1 million people; the ocean economy, on the other hand, contributes about four percent to Kenya’s GDP. Fortunately, Kenyans have realized the benefits of combining tourism with marine conservation. While coral bleaching has harmed the tourist industry, the relative success of recent conservation projects has led to increased interest in Kenya as a marine tourism destination. Within Wasini Island, before the conservation project, ecotourism provided 30 percent of the community’s source of income; after the project, it jumped to 80 percent, with tourists paying a large amount to observe the rejuvenated marine environment. There has also been an expansion in resort tourism. Kenyans constructed two new resorts and aim to raise the target for the number of annual visitors they receive from 1.3 million to 2.5 million. This will simultaneously enhance revenue and awareness for coral restoration initiatives, as well as help reduce Kenya’s wavering unemployment rate by nurturing new jobs. As Kenya’s blue tourism industry expands, however, officials must ensure it does not come at the cost of but rather uplifts, conservation efforts. 

Despite environmental hardships and competing economic demands, Kenya has displayed extraordinary resilience in restoring its dying reefs. Through targeted scientific initiatives, local activism, and an expanding blue tourism sector, coral reef restoration projects have sprung across Kenya’s shores and effectively restored reef ecosystems. Additionally, local fishermen, who have been losing fish stocks, are beginning to participate in the restoration process, employing sustainable fishing methods that can cement conservation as an imperative for economic well-being. By effectively prioritizing its environmental needs while capitalizing upon a valuable source of revenue, Kenya has constructed a model for sustainable resource management that it can nurture into the future. Other coastal nations can follow suit when seeking to balance the simultaneous challenges of climate change, economic growth, and natural resource preservation.