We are a new G20 global initiative created to deliver the best science and technology to save corals. #ForCoral #SDG14 #TeamCoral
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TO ALL CORAL RESEARCHERS OUT THERE:
The Coral Acceleration Program (CAP) 2026 funding call closes in just 10 days! 📣
We are looking for teams focused on using research to advance our knowledge of corals and improve their chances of surviving in a warming ocean. If your idea does not involve research, unfortunately, this call is not for you.
Key information:
👉Proposed technologies should be scalable and affordable to those who need them most;
👉International teams should have at least three members: one Lead Applicant and a minimum of two Co-Applicants;
👉 Proposals need to include organisations from at least two different countries, including one low- or middle-income country;
👉Successful applicants can receive up to USD 1 million per project.
Before the end of 2026, CORDAP will launch an additional funding call focused on high-risk, high-reward ideas from innovators beyond the traditional coral reef research community. The total amount available for CAP 2026 and the High-Reward call is USD 3.2 million.
📅 Deadline: submit your proposal by October 19, 2026
Find out more at cordap.org/awards/
Protecting coral reefs requires us to look beyond the reef itself.
That’s the central message from the new CORDAP Technology Roadmap for improving water quality, reducing land-based pollution and strengthening coral reef resilience.
Pollution does not recognise the boundaries between farms, towns, rivers, estuaries and the sea. A load of nutrients applied to a field to grow the food that reaches our plate may end up in coastal waters, threatening coral health. Sediment washed from exposed soil, or wastewater entering groundwater, may also travel many kilometres and end its journey in a coral reef.
To effectively improve water quality and strengthen reef resilience, we must clearly define priority areas for action. This new roadmap, developed by CORDAP together with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science @CefasGovUK , the Nutrient Pollution Global Action Network , @TheWCS and @nature_org , results from shared work and knowledge exchange among researchers, government representatives, practitioners, community organisations and technical specialists, following a workshop co-organised in Fiji in 2025.
Three connected priority areas for innovation and investment emerged from the workshop and are discussed in detail in the roadmap.
Find out more about what needs to be done to improve water quality and strengthen reef resilience here: cordap.org/wp-content/upload…
If you are thinking about applying for CAP 2026, please start by reading this publication.
We know that applying for funding can come with many questions. To support you, we’ve created a short FAQ covering the essentials — from eligibility to budget.
Key details:
Funding: Up to USD 1 million per project
Q&A Webinar: 21 September 2026
Submission Deadline: 19 October 2026
Please review the full FAQ on our website to ensure a complete and competitive application: cordap.org/awards/
Calling the entire global coral community!
CORDAP is inviting coral restoration practitioners, aquaria, reef networks, training organisations, researchers and conservation partners to help shape two new global initiatives:
🪸 Global Coral Heat Tolerance Challenge
🧬 Global Coral Biobanking Challenge
We want to understand:
✅ What expertise and capabilities already exist related to each Challenge
✅ Where important gaps remain
✅ How organisations would like to participate
✅ What support is needed for successful implementation
We know that the expertise already exists across the global coral community. Our goal is to connect people, resources, and opportunities to accelerate coral conservation at scale.
Your response will help shape the future design and delivery of these Challenges, ensuring they are informed by the needs and experience of those working directly on coral conservation and restoration.
📅 Open: 7 September to 7 October 2026
⚠️ This is an Expression of Interest and not a funding call. The supporting documents are available in English, Spanish, French, Indonesian and Chinese.
🔗 Click here to access the EOI form: forms.gle/BoRAjo52Dfwj2UJ78
📣 The Coral Accelerator Program (CAP) 2026 is now open 📣
CORDAP is seeking the best minds worldwide to come up with innovative solutions that protect, restore and strengthen the resilience of coral reefs.
If you have a bold, groundbreaking idea that could advance science and technology to save corals and reefs, we want to hear from you!
Key information:
👉Proposed technologies should be scalable and affordable to those who need them most;
👉International teams should have at least three members: one Lead Applicant and a minimum of two Co-Applicants;
👉 Proposals need to include organisations from at least two different countries, including one low- or middle-income country;
👉Successful applicants can receive up to USD 1 million per project.
Before the end of 2026, CORDAP will launch an additional funding call focused on high-risk, high-reward ideas from innovators beyond the traditional coral reef research community. The total amount available for CAP 2026 and the High-Reward call is USD 3.2 million.
The deadline for submitting Concept Notes is 19 October 2026. On 21 September 2026 we will host a webinar to answer questions and explain the submission process. Register for the webinar and find out more about CAP 2026 at cordap.org/awards/
Are you as much in awe of our corals as we are?
July 28th is #WORLDCONSERVATIONDAY, where we acknowledge the importance of safeguarding healthy ecosystems towards a healthy society.
Protecting Earth’s natural resources and habitats from threats such as loss of biodiversity and climate change can be simple. We can start by helping corals, as their well-being is directly responsible to our own.
Today, CORDAP celebrates sustainable development and nature conservation by highlighting some of the 40+ projects we support thanks to our generous funders and partners such as @MEWA_KSA , @Acwa_en
, @FishmongersCo , @MSC_foun and @KAUST , that all contribute towards conserving and restoring the coral reef habitats.
Swipe left to see how the researchers are spearheading coral conservation and check cordap.org to learn more!
Mapping Cold Water Corals in the Central and South Atlantic Ocean: @PlymouthMarine @PlymUni @MandelaUni @UnivaliOnline @Ufesoficial_ @imr @Unigib_Research @unibielefeld @Udelaruy
Suppressing coral diseases by harnessing the power of sea cucumbers: @GeorgiaTech @Coral_Vivo
Speeding up coral adaptation to rising temperatures: @ODU @aims_gov_au @VanuatuClimate @SaveCoral
Integrating science, governance and policy to increase Coral restoration in the Western Indian Ocean: @wiomsa @SCU_Australia @Macquarie_Uni
Pioneering probiotics in Brazilian coral reefs: @ufrj @KAUST
Uncovering the diversity of microbiome and symbionts in coral reefs: @PondiUni_Ofcl
Mapping connections between coral reefs: @kasetsart_ku @psuconnext
Check out the pages of the entities involved in each project:
Partnering with local communities and industries to restore coral reefs in Tanzania: @UniofSeychelles @WildImpactEarth @UdsmOfficial
Establishing the most complete survey of deep sea corals in Argentina: @TempleUniv @CONICETDialoga @smithsonian @NMNH @UBARectorado
Empowering restoration leaders with Coral Academy and Networks: @PICRCPalau @Stanford
Creating a community-led coral monitoring hub in Indonesia: @ruhrunibochum @UnpattiOnline @noaaocean
Listen in, we’re about to let you in on a secret…
July 18th marks #WorldListeningDay, as a homage to the Raymond M. Schafer, the founder of acoustic ecology.
Its 2026 theme is “listening as practice”, and celebrates sound as being part of memory, meaning, and care. All the more reason for us to highlight two of 40+ projects CORDAP funds, that specifically target sound to stimulate and restore coral reefs.
Check out our listening party with Margarita Brandt’s and Aran Mooney’s projects, and visit our links below to learn even more details.
Amazing work in progress by:
@USFQ_Ecuador @USFQGalapagos , Reef Revival, @imperialcollege , @CornellUniversity , @Yale , @UCL , @parquegalapagos , @gsc (project 1 institutions)
@WHOI , @oceansforward , Central Caribbean Marine Institute (project 2 institutions)
Diver see, diver do.
Let’s make sure we are all good role models and positively influence our buddies when diving.
A recent study showed that divers make contact with coral reefs every four minutes on average during a dive. Whether unintentional or unnoticed, more than 40% of these contacts result in damage, including broken coral colonies.
To preserve our favourite reefs, we definitely need to dive better.
Swipe to check this to-do list and let us know what else should be considered.
CORDAP is working on a capacity-building programme that will empower coral restoration practitioners to help restore their reefs responsibly. Knowing how to behave underwater is definitely a must.
Read the scientific study by Lin et al. (2026) Causes and Correlates of Unsustainable Scuba Diving Tourism on Coral Reefs conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.c…
Feeling warm today? You’re not alone - tropical corals are warming up significantly more than the rest of the planet. Together with our generous funders and partners we sponsor several research projects in the Tropics. Check the video to see more details about our projects in the Caribbean, and visit cordap.org/projects-awarded/ to find out more about all the tropical projects we fund.
On June 2, CORDAP joined the BBVA Foundation in Madrid for an evening dedicated to one urgent question: how can we prevent the collapse of coral reef ecosystems?
Visit cordap.org/cordap-talks-at-b… to find out more about the event and what was discussed.
Thank you to our pannelists for the enlightening discussion:
Dr. Anastazia Banarszak, Chair of CORDAP’s Scientific Advisory Committee & Researcher at Institute of Marine Sciences, @UNAM_MX ;
Dr. Michelle Taylor, Member of CORDAP’s Scientific Advisory Committee, Senior Lecturer at @UniEssex and Scientific Director at @oceancensus ;
Dr. Just Cebrian, Special Programs Advisor at CORDAP
Prof. @carlosduartephd , CORDAP CEO and Ibn Sina Distinguished Professor of Marine Science at the @KAUST .
Do you know what day it is today? And tomorrow?
That’s right: it’s World Ocean Day and Coral Triangle Day. Which means… DOUBLE CELEBRATION!
Whether you are in the Coral Triangle or far from it but close to the ocean, take some time to visit it and appreciate everything coral reefs do for us — from protecting our shores to providing compounds that help create medicines.
Although we have been witnessing how this underwater paradise is slowly losing its richness and beauty as corals fade, bleach, and die, we are not giving up on them. If we did, millions of people would see their livelihoods greatly impacted.
Instead, we have chosen to support the teams in the Coral Triangle that are fighting coral loss. Only through teamwork will we be able to reverse this daunting scenario.
That’s why we are funding several projects in the region. Thanks to the generous support of our funders and partners, including MEWA, ACWA, The Fishmongers’ Company, MSC Foundation, and the Environment Fund, dozens of researchers are able to study and test the solutions needed to counteract coral loss.
Swipe right to see how scientists and local communities are securing a safer future for corals in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines!
Visit cordap.org/projects-awarded/ to find out more about all the Coral Triangle projects we fund.
Photos: Zhu Zhu, Ni Kadek, Carla Lourenço, Scott Bryan, Michael Sweet, Haiwei Luo, Nicole Fogarty
G20 CORDAP retweeted
On International Day for Biodiversity, we recognize the importance of protecting and restoring ecosystems that sustain life.
Our work and impact spans across our different geographies. For instance, along the Red Sea coast in Rabigh, Acwa is helping restore coastal ecosystems through large-scale mangrove rehabilitation and habitat protection, with more than 54,000 mangrove saplings planted, supporting shoreline protection, blue carbon sequestration, coastal resilience, and habitats for marine life and migratory bird species.
Alongside this, Acwa continues to support global coral reef resilience through its partnership with @CORDAP_ , advancing coral restoration research and conservation efforts worldwide.
We are protecting our environment and ecosystems, creating a greener, sustainable world, where people and planet thrive together.
June 2, 2026 in Madrid! Join us!
🌊 Conoce la situación de los ecosistemas marinos y las estrategias para frenar su deterioro en el encuentro "Actuar frente al riesgo de colapso de los arrecifes de coral"
📅 2 de junio
🎟️ Entrada gratis previa inscripción
📍P. de Recoletos, 10 (Madrid)
bit.ly/4wZMobR
We keep saying we help corals thrive and support more than 30% of marine species.
How is that so?
On International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22, we want to make that clear and show you some of the 40+ research projects funded by CORDAP that accelerate coral resilience, recovery and restoration.
Our researchers are spread across 40 countries and six continents and share one mission: saving coral reefs from local and global threats, ensuring they continue to support and maintain marine biodiversity.
Since 2023 — when we funded our first research projects — we have committed over USD 38 million to coral science and restoration.
None of this would be possible without the generous support of our partners and funders, including MEWA, ACWA Power, The Fishmongers’ Company, MSC Foundation, and the Environment Fund.
👉 Swipe to find out how researchers are boosting coral resilience!
Photo credits: Rita Sellares, Emma Camp, Mary Hagedorn, Nicole Fogarty, Makamas Sutthacheep, Valeria Pizarro, Maria Fernanda, Tan Chu Hong, Robin Philippo, Erik Cordes
Visit to cordap.org/projects-awarded/ find out more about all the projects we fund.
Who’s Maeve, you may ask?
Maeve Holland is our first Science Communication Intern and an MSc. Student from Bren School at UC Santa Barbara. Her internship is fully supported by Sea Forward.
Maeve will help showcase CORDAP’s internal work and funded project, bringing her passion about ecology and conservation to the table.
She was previously a park ranger for the US Park Service, and has experience writing and leading intersectional programs with cultural and natural relevance, therefore making her an asset to broadcast coral research in a warming world.
Say hi to Maeve in the comments, and keep an eye for her contributions!
Are you a coral researcher from a LMIC or working with one to obtain an AI tool to support coral conservation, restoration and management?
If so, CORDAP has the funding call for you!
Our Coral Decision Support System (CDSS-C) funding tender closes in 9 days!
If you are passionate about providing a scalable, impactful idea to be provided free-of-charge to the community, and fill critical knowledge gaps in coral research, check all eligibility criteria on the CDSS-C webpage!
💰 Funding: USD 1.5 million for the winning project (for 1–3 years)
📅 Deadline: May 20, 2026
🔗 Learn more and apply at cordap.org/call-for-tenders/ and share the news around!
In late January 2026, we launched the second edition of CLIP – the Coral Local Innovation Program – a funding initiative by CORDAP designed specifically for researchers from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) who are developing local, affordable solutions to secure a future for corals.
Thank you so much to all the researchers who submitted concept notes for our second CLIP call.
Keep an eye out for awardee annoucements by September 2026, and help us bridge the funding gap by supporting impactful science and innovation — learn how at: cordap.org/support-us/