Thomas Le Berre moving coral frames made of welded rebar coated in resin and sand that have been placed in the shallows surrounding Landaa Giraavaru Island on Baa Atoll. Almost all of the shallow coral in the Maldives (90% above 15 meters depth) was killed in an El Niño event in 1998 due to high water temperatures. Small pieces of coral are attached (trans-planted) to the frame with plastic cable-ties so that they can get established and grow. The coral is making a strong comeback, and can grow from 1-30cm./year depending on specie.
Tourists visiting the two Four Seasons resorts can sponsor a coral frame, and many of them bear the names of past visitors, and every six months they can download a picture of their frame to see how much the coral has grown. There are approx. one million foreign visitors to the Maldives each year. Thomas and his team have installed over 2,600 frames in the waters surrounding the two Four Seasons resorts.