Australia and Brunei Darussalam are sharing innovative coral reef monitoring technology to help protect reefs in the face of increasing climate change and local ocean pressures.
Speaking at the conclusion of the final workshop of the Australian Government's Marine Resources Initiative (MRI) at Bandar Seri Begawan, High Commissioner his Excellency Mr Michael Hoy said he was proud to bring together scientists from AIMS and the Brunei Darussalam Department of Fisheries to step up its coral reef monitoring capabilities.
"Protecting coral reefs is a globally shared challenge, vital in locations where people rely on healthy reefs for their livelihoods and where reefs hold significant cultural and spiritual significance," he said.
AIMS Principal Research Scientist Dr Manuel Gonzalez Rivero said the AIMS-developed technology, ReefCloud , was a digital platform that used artificial intelligence to analyse underwater images of a coral reef to extract data about its condition and provide comprehensive, standardised, and easily understandable reports.
"ReefCloud enables users to rapidly and cost-effectively provide real-time information on coral reef condition which is essential to inform good reef management decisions," he said.
"AIMS scientists have worked with the Brunei Darussalam Department of Fisheries to train local reef monitoring professionals to use the technology, transfer knowledge, and adopt and adapt it to meet local needs.
"The project successfully collected about 340,000 data records to describe the status of coral reefs across 13 sites along the coast of Brunei Darussalam.
"Researchers, managers and monitoring providers from across the country have been trained in novel monitoring technologies, advanced data analyses and standard methodologies for documenting changes in coral reefs."
AIMS International Partnerships Manager Dr Britta Schaffelke said the Brunei Darussalam Department of Fisheries would have access to ReefCloud improvements, and new information and training products from AIMS.
"An important objective of the MRI is to establish long lasting relationships between coral reef researchers and professionals across Southeast Asia and Australia," she said.
"Brunei Darussalam's fringing reefs and submerged coral reef patches host highly biodiverse coral communities with species richness comparable to the neighbouring 'Coral Triangle' zone.
"AIMS is also committed to support ongoing regional cooperation through our leadership of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) and engagement with the GCRMN's East Asian Regional node ."
