Syed Akbar INDIAN MARINE scientists and oceanographers have artifically repopulated corals near the 10 islands of Lakshadweep. "Coral reefs in India have been under stress for some time. The Lakshadweep reefs bore the brunt of coral mining, souvenir collection, ground water pollution and mechanical damage owing to activities like dredging," Dr M.V. Moideen Wafar told this newspaper. Dr Wafar and his team created a dive centre in Lakshadweep, acquired diving kits, trained a broad spectrum of stakeholders ranging from officers, wardens, scientific staff to unemployed local youth. The scientists took up transplantation of corals to repopulate damaged coral reef areas. "I am in the process of transferring this to a community-involved exercise in all islands so that reef restoration is enhanced and additional income generated for the local population by way of fish catch from near the transplantation site," Dr Wafar said. Corals grow very slowly. The bigger ones like the brain corals grow no more than a cm per year. Some branching corals can grow up to 20 cm per year but their skeletons are less dense. Much of the coral was destroyed in 1998 when a vast layer of warm water spread over the tropical region, pushing up temperatures by two degrees. More than 40 countries reported impacts varying from moderate to severe. In India, Andaman and Nicobar reefs were the most severely affected (up to 80 per cent death of corals) followed by Lakshadweep (40 to 80 per cent) and Gulf of Mannar (60 per cent) reefs. "Our Lakshadweep coral reefs are no more a splendour. We are left now with reefs that have hardly a quarter of live coral cover - reefs where we could not put our foot down earlier without crushing a coral are now barren for long stretches," Dr Wafar said. The NIO scientists have been experimenting with growing the corals. The idea is simple: Collect fragments of corals, transplant them to secure bases and let them grow in new sites or sites where they once thrived. "We now have a simple technique to increase the coral cover and biodiversity in our reefs as fast as possible. Besides increasing live coral cover, this could also serve tourists who would like to see corals at shallow waters. As this technique does not demand high skills, this could be developed into a community venture, generating modest income for local slanders as well as instilling in them a sense of commitment to coral reef conservation," Dr Wafar said.