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Protection and restoration of coral reefs thanks to the Sea Academy project
Sulubaaï – 2021 – Antony Fortin
Why create marine protected areas? How to restore coral reefs impacted by dynamite fishing? How can we help fish stocks to rebuild quickly? This is what this cartoon explains in 3 minutes. The solutions presented are applied in the Sea Academy project led by Sulubaaï to help restore the marine resources of a bay in the Philippines with local communities.
The island hope
TF1 – 2020 – Pierre-François Lemonnier
Since 2012, Sulubaaï foundation has worked to restore the island of Pangatalan and its marine ecosystems. In 2021, Sulubaaï is ready to start a wild fish restocking project in the whole bay (Shark Fin Bay, Palawan). The technique of capturing and cultivating post-larvae, developed by ECOCEAN, will be used to replenish the natural resources of the bay, and for the first time also to sustainably provide artisanal fish farms and a public aquarium.
“If there is only one coral reef left, we hope it will be ours” – says Frédéric Tardieu, founder of Sulubaaï.
“If there is only one coral reef left, we hope it will be ours” – says Frédéric Tardieu, founder of Sulubaaï.
Call of the wild
Canal + – 2019 – Jérôme Delafosse
This report presents the actions carried out by the Sulubaaï foundation to restore the ecosystems of Pangatalan Island, and to work with local communities for the restoration and sustainable management of the bay’s marine resources. This project, responding to the name “SEA ACADEMY”, was born thanks to several years of collaboration with local communities and technical and scientific partners. It consists of helping the villages to create and manage small community marine protected areas, to apply restoration techniques to coral reefs and fish populations and finally to raise awareness among schoolchildren to the preservation of their marine resources.
Hope is called Sulubaai
Sur les routes de l’Asie – 2019 – Romain Lazzarotto
Going on an adventure with his wife to change his life on the other side of the world more than eight years ago, Frédéric Tardieu landed on Pangatalan, a tiny abandoned island in the northeast of the Palawan archipelago, in the Philippines. The findings he made there will push him to create a foundation and a marine protected area to restore the island’s terrestrial and marine ecosystem.
Pangatalan : the rebirth of an island
Blancpain Ocean Commitment – 2018 – Laurent Ballesta
This report presents the restoration actions of the Sulubaaï foundation as well as the scientific missions carried out in 2018 to Pangatalan Island. This video will introduce you to the coral restoration technique developed by Sulubaaï in 2017 as well as the photogrammetry and bio-acoustics techniques developed by partners of the foundation, the Andromède Oceanologie design offices and the Chorus Research Institute to ensure ecological monitoring.
Dreaming of a sustainable island in the Philippines
Tara Expedition Foundation – 2018
Meet with Frederic & Chris Tardieu, founders, and Thomas Pavy, marine biologist who then were the heart of the Sulubaaï foundation team. Listen to them telling the story of the foundation and the first actions implemented for the restoration of the vegetation and coral reefs of Pangatalan Island from 2012 to 2017.
Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation
Sulubaaï – 2017
This video presents the Sulubaaï environmental foundation in its early days. Created in 2011 by Frédéric and Chris Tardieu, the Sulubaaï foundation then had the main objective of restoring the island of Pangatalan (Palawan, Philippines). At the heart of the foundation, a very small team, the founders and a marine biologist, manage the restoration of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, helped by a team recruited from the surrounding villages. To ensure the viability of the foundation, the island is being developed in the perspective of a sustainable tourism activity.
The Sulubaaï Foundation: the dream of a sustainable island
Escales. Le Magazine du Ponant. – 20/08/2021
At 53 years old, Frédéric Tardieu, together with his wife Chris, settled in the Philippines on the tiny abandoned islet of Pangatalan, in the Palawan archipelago, with the mission of restoring the marine and coastal ecosystem of this small paradise, devastated for several years by poachers. A life project that gave birth to the Sulubaaï Foundation and to an ecological program now recognized around the world, supported by prestigious partners and by the PONANT Foundation.
Pangatalan Island in Palawan, elected as a sustainable island
The Manila Times – 13/04/2021
On September 15, the Philippine Embassy in Paris, received Frédéric Tardieu, president of Sulubaaï Environment Foundation (SEF), to sign an agreement between the French Fund for World Conservation and Sulubaai Environment Foundation in the presence of Secretary of State Bérangère Abba and Philippine Ambassador to France, Ma. Theresa Lazaro.
Frédéric tardieu, the coral gardener
Paris Match – 20/03/2021- Emilie Blachère
On all continents, on land and at sea, men and women are fighting for the environment. This week, Match left for the Philippines, where a Frenchman, a former real estate developer, is reconstructing a lost paradise.
Nature only needs space
Le Petit Journal – 31/05/2021 – Caroline Chambon
In the Philippines, on the island of Pangatalan, the Sulubaaï Foundation has restored the flora and fauna of this biosphere reserve. Frédéric Tardieu is at the origin of this ethical and eco-responsible project.
Frédéric Tardieu, from Marseille (France), committed to the coastal environment in the Philippines
Apnée Swim Wear – 25/05/2020
Fell in love with the Philippines during a trip with his wife in the 1990s, Frédéric Tardieu, originally from Marseille, set down in 2011 on the island of Pangatalan. This Frenchman, whom nothing predestined to invest in the environment, is committed to the restoration and protection of the ecosystems of this region.
On his tiny island, Frédéric Tardieu brings nature back with a bang !
20 Minutes – 09/06/2021 – Fabrice Pouliquen
In 2011, with his wife, Frédéric Tardieu bought an abandoned island in the Philippines. Not to take it easy. Since the Marseillais started on a vast project to restore terrestrial and marine biodiversity. His action is set up as an example today.
Daily life confined to Pangatalan Island
Le Petit Journal – 15/04/2020
Based in the Philippines since 2011, Frédéric Tardieu created the Sulubaai Foundation, which works to restore and conserve the natural resources of Pangatalan Island. Since mid-March, he has been confined to this 4-hectare island located in the northeast of the Palawan archipelago. He tells us about his daily life.
Sea Academy, a project for the sea and the Filippino fisherfolks
Ouest France – 14/09/2020 – Corine Bourbeillon – n°1666
Protect small coastal maritime areas, restore coral and mangroves and, above all, bring back fish using innovative methods… This is the Sea Academy project, launched in the Philippines by the Filippino-French foundation Sulubaaï. This project is granted by the French Global Environment Funds (FFEM).
Crusaders against plastic pollution spread the word in Palawan
Philippines Daily Inquirer – 16/11/2019
Race for Water expedition, the world’s largest solar-powered vessel, just ended a two-week stopover in Palawan. The expedition’s goal is a crusade against plastic pollution in the ocean.
With its foundation, Frédéric Tardieu manages the rebirth of an island
Le Petit Journal – 12/12/2019
The ceremony of the French people of Asia-Oceania took place on December 5 at the residence of the French Embassy in Singapore. Living in the Philippines since 2011, Frédéric Tardieu is the winner of the innovation trophy for the work carried out with his foundation Sulubaai on the island of Pangatalan.
Innovative marine restoration in one of our HOPE SPOT
Mission Blue – 16/09/2019
Pangatalan Island has been declared a Hope Spot by international nonprofit Mission Blue to highlight the profound impact that a small group of citizens can make when they seek to change the world. Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue says, “The time is now to empower one another to do what we can with what we have to protect the fragile marine ecosystems around the world. The conservation work on Pangatalan Island is an incredible example of the impact people can make– cause for hope.”
The Pangatalan Island, which forms part of the Palawan Biosphere Reserve (Philippines), operates as an effective living laboratory for conservation and sustainable development through cooperation between the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development and the Sulubaai Foundation (SEF). It combines nature conservation with sustainable tourism, mangrove restoration and community development.
©Thomas Pavy – Sulubaai FoundationPagatalan IslandThe Pagatalan Island, which forms part of the Palawan Biosphere Reserve (Philippines), operates as an effective living laboratory for conservation and sustainable development through cooperation between the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development and the Sulubaai Foundation (SEF). It combines nature conservation with sustainable tourism, mangrove restoration and community development.
The Pangatalan Marine Protected Area is the site of successful coral reef restoration processes based on innovative techniques developed by the Sulubaai Environmental Foundation. The coral reef restoration programme aims to restore severe damage to coral reefs around the island and increase the resilience of this vital ecological system.
Two complementary techniques are used depending on the existing conditions. Where solid structures are available, nails and steel wire are used to attach corals to natural pavements. In their absence, the programme uses an innovative Sulu-Reef Prosthesis (SRP), a durable module made of reinforced concrete, designed and engineered by SEF in 2016. There are three models corresponding to different sizes, all of which have been designed and manufactured on Pangatalan Island using a unique and durable steel moulder.
The SRP functions as a structural prosthesis for coral reefs that have experienced a high level of mortality and have lost structural strength. Their use promotes resiliency among natural reefs and coral regrowth. They are not designed to create artificial reefs or new reefs. The SRPs are dispersed in groups to cover a larger area and then integrated into the natural relief. Depending on the species and environmental conditions, coral tissue overgrowth takes place after one to two months and skeleton overgrowth after two to four months.
Pangatalan, Sustainable island
Newsletter D’île en île de l’ONG Initiatives Petites îles de Méditerranée – 22/03/2018 – n°22
In the 90s, Frédéric TARDIEU met Thierry, a French man from Marseille too, freshly installed on a small island lost in the Sulu Sea in the Philippines. Curious to learn more about this life of Robinson, Frédéric decides to visit Thierry and embarks for more than 30 hours of travel, between planes, dirt tracks and canoes. The island is love at first sight…
They bought an island to save the coral reefs
Ouest France – 15/03/2018 – Corine Bourbeillon – n°1040
In the Philippines, this French couple has made a crazy dream come true : buy an island. Their goal: to make Pangatalan a model of a small, sustainable island with high biodiversity.
The scientists of the foundation monitor the Sulu-Reef-Prosthesis, artificial reefs invented by the foundation to restore the blasted reefs, since their first installation in the ecosytems in 2017. The surveys are made four to twelve times a year. This long-term monitoring provide data to evaluate the efficiency of the restoration technique on the survivoship and growth of the corals.
The scientists of the foundation monitor the Sulu-Reef-Prosthesis, artificial reefs invented by the foundation to restore the blasted reefs, since their first installation in the ecosytems in 2017. The surveys are made four to twelve times a year. This long-term monitoring provide data to evaluate the efficiency of the restoration technique on the survivoship and growth of the corals.
From 2017 to date SEF has deployed more than 200 SRPs on different coral rubble patches inside the MPA. In detail, SEF located a variety of SRPs 1000 (0.37 m2), SRPs 700 (0.28 m2) and SRPs 450 (0.2 m2), for a total of 178 m2 of artificial surface available for recruitment…
From 2017 to date SEF has deployed more than 200 SRPs on different coral rubble patches inside the MPA. In detail, SEF located a variety of SRPs 1000 (0.37 m2), SRPs 700 (0.28 m2) and SRPs 450 (0.2 m2), for a total of 178 m2 of artificial surface available for recruitment. This new restoration technic allowed to attach more than 1600 coral fragments belonging to 15 coral genus for a total amount of 28 different species. Results shows 76.63% survivorship rate with an attachment rate higher than 70%.
The Sulubaai Environmental Foundation (SEF), a Philippine non-profit organization created in 2012, is dedicated to protecting the ecosystem through targeted actions, and sustainable development on Pangatalan Island (Shark Fin Bay ). Before 2012, vegetation was exploited to produce charcoal, a very impactful activity that left only 306 trees on the island …
The Sulubaai Environmental Foundation (SEF), a Filipino non-profit organization created in 2012, is dedicated to the protection of the ecosystem through targeted actions, and sustainable development on Pangatalan Island (Shark Fin Bay). Before 2012, vegetation was used to produce charcoal, a very impactful activity that left only 306 trees on the island. Marine studies have revealed a similar situation underwater, with over 60% of coral reefs destroyed by dynamite fishing. Over time, SEF has planted over 50,000 native plants and 9,000 mangrove trees. One of the objectives of the SEF is to preserve natural resources, which is why in 2016 a marine protected area was set up accompanied by a coral restoration project. In addition, the SEF seeks to be exemplary in terms of sustainable development. For example, 85% of the electricity used on the island comes from a 20 kW solar panel system, making Palangatan Island a “zero carbon” place. The food comes from a 2 ha organic farm started and developed by the foundation on the main land near the island. The water used on the island comes from the nearby mountain, thanks to a system based on gravity, which does not consume energy. The SEF recycles and uses recycled materials: construction wood comes from old buildings in surrounding villages and material waste (iron, wood, for example) is given to those who reuse it. With its “zero carbon emission” policy and its actions that respect the environment, the SEF can be considered as an example of the implementation of biosphere reserve strategies in the fields of ecosystem conservation, sustainable development and restoration of overexploited natural resources.
Transplanting corals onto artificial reefs (Sulu-reef prosthesis) in Shark Fin Bay
Fiche technique – LÉOCADIE Aurore, PIOCH Sylvain., et PINAULT Mathieu, “Guide d’ingénierie écologique : la réparation des récifs coralliens et des écosystèmes associés ,” Documentation Ifrecor, consulté le 9 février 2020, Conference paper.
Since the 1970s, ecological engineering has been practiced with an increasingly wide range of tools. It relies in particular on the choice of techniques mimicking degraded ecosystems, while respecting ecological trajectories as best as possible…
Since the 1970s, ecological engineering has been practiced with an increasingly wide range of tools. It relies in particular on the choice of techniques mimicking degraded ecosystems, while respecting ecological trajectories as best as possible. It is used for many ecosystems.We tackle the subject of restoring coral reefs and associated ecosystems through an inventory of ecological engineering techniques and projects, carried out in France and abroad.
In order to implement its first project, Sulubaaï Environemental Foundation acquired Pangatalan Island in August 2012. Until 2015, SEF has been focused on terrestrial environments protection and restoration by depolluting and replanting…
In order to implement its first project, Sulubaaï Environemental Foundation acquired Pangatalan Island in August 2012. Until 2015, SEF has been focused on terrestrial environments protection and restoration by depolluting and replanting the site. Because of the threats and impacts on the marine environments surrounding the island the foundation decided in 2015 to create a marine protected area (MPA).