Seagrass Restoration Project

This Seagrass Restoration project main goal is to transplant one hectare of seagrass within a year, ensuring the long-term survival of seagrasses. The project also involves conducting research on seagrass restoration. Over the coming years, OCEA aims to inspire future major projects in other areas to restore seagrass meadows, thereby supporting Sri Lanka’s climate, fisheries, and coastal livelihoods.

Sri Lanka has 14 seagrass species to choose from, but OCEA focused on ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea sp.) and turtlegrass (Thalassia hemprichii), as they are the most common species and thrive around Sri Lanka’s coasts. OCEA tested planting seagrass plugs using various techniques, and the latest technique appears to be a promising way to re-establish seagrass in shallow coastal areas. The lessons learned from these trials are now being applied in a larger scale trial, aiming to plant one hectare within a year.

Since December 2023, Khiri Reach has been committed to Sri Lanka’s first major Seagrass Restoration project by OCEA (Ocean Conservation & Education Alliance) in Kalpitiya. Khiri Reach committed to supporting 0.5 hectares of seagrass restoration for one year.

UPDATE

In November 2023, our Khiri Reach Ambassadors and the staff in the Sri Lanka office volunteered at the seagrass restoration project managed by OCEA and were joined by two knowledgeable researchers there.

In July 2024, our Khiri Reach Ambassadors and the staff from the Sri Lanka office visited the seagrass restoration project. They were informed that the pilot project conducted during 2023-2024 had a success rate of approximately 80%, which is considered healthy as anything above 50% is considered successful.

With funding from Khiri Reach, they selected a new restoration site for a half-hectare area on Sinna Arichchalai Island nearby. Pre-restoration studies were conducted to check feasibility, which included the collection of soil samples, historical distribution, and the quality of abiotic and biotic factors. Necessary equipment was purchased.

During the visit, the team actively took part in the plant preparation process, which mostly did not require scientific expertise.

The team from OCEA, including their founder Chathurika, was there to carry out the following specialized tasks:

Collecting seagrass plugs from the donor site
Measuring surface water quality around the area (dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, turbidity, pH, and a variety of other parameters)
Collecting soil and mixing it with compost fertilizer to make the optimum mix
Planting the prepared plugs in jute hessian bags on the optimum underwater surfaces
Collecting soil samples from both the donor site and the restoration site to conduct pre- and post-planting analysis

Khiri Reach Sri Lanka will continuously keep track of the project status and progress of the seagrass restoration.