Coral Cay Conservation (CCC)

Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) is a UK-based NGO founded in 1986 that specifically aims to provide resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the protection, restoration and management of corals reefs and associated ecosystems. Since its establishment, CCC has been active in 14 countries and conducted 17 conservation-focused projects that spanned both marine and terrestrial environments.

CCC’s focus regions are selected following invitations from host-country nationals and the established projects operate on a multi-lateral basis, providing essential resources and support to local stakeholders, active agencies and national governing bodies. Each project is established on the linkages between natural resource appraisal, education and outreach, and capacity building.

Established projects are driven by a core Head Office team and active in-situ research teams, composed of long-term staff, research assistants (through a project financing mechanism) and host-country nationals. A key component of projects is the collection of bio-physical data that are utilised to produce spatial management recommendations for the sustainable use of focus areas and systems whilst protecting and promoting their services. On-the-ground teams engage with local schools to raise awareness of the threats faced by the natural world and encourage action, promoting stewardship and inspiring future generations. CCC achieve this through numerous education programmes such as Reef Rangers and Sea Stars Environmental Award Scheme (SEAS). In addition, CCC operates capacity building workshops for marine protected area managers as well as a Scholarship Programme for country nationals where training in SCUBA and data collection protocols is provided over a four-week period free-of-charge.

To date, CCC holds notable achievements through facilitation in the Belize UNESCO world heritage site, aiding in the establishment of Cambodia’s first large scale marine reserve, and more recently, driving the establishment of over 14 small-scale MPAs in the Philippines.

CCC is currently active in Southern Leyte, the Philippines, and continue to support the efforts of ICRI and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN). All of CCC’s publications are for download online with data being openly available upon request.

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