Before we repair a reef, we need to ask why it was damaged
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we believe conservation must address the pressures damaging our marine environment, as well as the damage we can already see.
Planting coral, creating artificial reefs and restoring damaged habitats can be valuable. But if pollution continues, anchors keep damaging coral and coastal development keeps increasing pressure on the sea, restoration alone cannot deliver lasting protection.
Our starting point is simple: understand the causes, reduce the damage and give recovery a better chance.
Our approach: prevention alongside restoration
Reef restoration is easy to see. A coral nursery or an underwater structure gives visitors something tangible to photograph and support. Wastewater treatment, responsible planning and compliance with environmental rules are less visible, but they can be just as important.
At Oceans 5, we want these less visible issues to be central to the conservation conversation around Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan.
This is our position, rather than a claim that every other organization works differently. Conservation groups, researchers, residents and businesses can contribute in different ways. We believe restoration has its strongest future when prevention is part of the same plan.
Healthy reefs depend on healthy islands
A reef is connected to what happens on the land beside it. Water use, drainage, construction, waste disposal and boat operations can all influence the surrounding marine environment.
For the Gili Islands, these connections raise practical questions. Can infrastructure cope with additional development? Is wastewater properly treated? Are coastal habitats protected? Are boats using suitable moorings?
These are pressures to investigate and manage. Establishing what caused damage at a particular reef requires local evidence.
1. Development and wastewater
More rooms, restaurants and visitors generally mean more wastewater. If treatment capacity does not grow with demand, the risk of pollution increases.
Untreated or poorly treated wastewater can introduce excess nutrients and pathogens into coastal waters. Nutrient enrichment can encourage excessive algae growth, while the breakdown of organic matter can consume oxygen.
Our priority: ask how wastewater will be collected, treated and monitored before adding further pressure.
2. Building and marine protection rules
Responsible development includes checking applicable land-use, building, environmental and marine protected-area requirements before work begins.
Conservation must include questions about whether development respects those requirements. Suspected breaches should be documented and referred to the responsible authorities; individual cases need verified records.
Our priority: make compliance part of the conservation discussion.
3. Anchors and boat activity
An anchor dropped onto living coral can break the habitat that divers and restoration teams are trying to protect. More boat activity can increase the risk where anchoring and mooring arrangements are inadequate.
Suitable moorings, maintenance, clear operating practices and effective oversight belong in a reef protection plan.
Our priority: prevent repeated physical damage while supporting reef recovery.
4. Beaches, construction and turtles
Beaches are wildlife habitat as well as places for tourism. Coastal construction and shoreline hardening can reduce or obstruct suitable turtle nesting space. Artificial lighting can also disturb nesting turtles and disorient hatchlings.
Erosion needs careful assessment. Waves, storms, sediment supply and coastal structures can all influence shoreline change; a single photograph cannot establish the cause.
Our priority: protect beach habitat and assess coastal changes before choosing an intervention.
A quick clarification about water chemistry
It would be misleading to say that more wastewater automatically means a higher pH. Pollution can affect water chemistry in different ways, depending on local conditions.
Useful monitoring should consider nutrients, dissolved oxygen, microbial contamination, temperature and pH together. Ocean acidification is a separate, connected pressure: seawater absorbs carbon dioxide, which lowers pH.
We need measurements to understand what is happening around a particular reef.
Where coral restoration fits
We support the principle of helping damaged ecosystems recover. Carefully planned coral restoration and appropriately designed artificial reefs can contribute to that work.
However, adding a structure is not automatically the same as rebuilding a functioning reef. Projects need clear objectives, suitable locations, appropriate approvals, ecological expertise and long-term monitoring.
Restoration can take place while threats are being reduced. The important point is that it should not become a substitute for addressing continuing damage.
Climate change and marine heatwaves also threaten reefs. Better local management cannot remove those global pressures, but it remains an essential part of protecting the marine environment.
Repair matters. Preventing repeated damage matters too.
If the same pressures continue, restoration risks becoming a cycle of repairing damage that could have been prevented.
We want conservation success to include cleaner water, better coastal decisions, protected habitat and less physical damage—not only the number of corals planted.
What this means at Oceans 5
Our conservation approach connects everyday diving practices with education, community participation and attention to the wider island environment.
- Reduce damage during dives: promote good buoyancy, no touching and respect for marine life.
- Support practical action: involve staff, visitors and residents in beach clean-ups and environmental learning.
- Encourage research: support observations and data collection that help distinguish possible explanations from established causes.
- Discuss difficult issues: keep wastewater, development pressure, coastal habitat and environmental compliance in the conversation.
We also recognize that prevention alone cannot repair every damaged reef. Protection, research, restoration and responsible business practices need to work together.
Explore Our Conservation WorkConservation begins with the decisions we make
For us, protecting the Gili Islands means looking beyond what happens underwater. It means asking whether the decisions made on land support the marine environment we all depend on.
Before asking how many corals we can plant, we should also ask: what are we doing to stop more coral from being damaged?
Discover the wider environmental issues, community projects and conservation work connected with Oceans 5 on our dedicated website.
Visit Gili Conservation Dive