Baros Maldives: How the resort encourages its guests to protect corals

This makes the holiday sustainable.

8 June 2021

Baros Maldives is renowned by underwater world lovers for its world-class House Reef known. The island's own marine biology team has now developed a new way for guests at the island's own resort to get involved in coral reef conservation - and leave a meaningful environmental footprint in the process.

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The significant house reef of Baros

The house reef of Baros is home to countless fish, turtles, reef sharks and many other marine animals. In addition, it has always protected the island and thus also the exclusive resort from strong currents, waves and erosion. The reef is made up of corals - fragile creatures that suffer from climate change as ocean water temperatures rise. Baros marine biologists have been working for years to preserve this natural phenomenon through massive maintenance work on the house reef. With the help of previous techniques, such as coral frames and floating coral lines anchored in the open sea, it has already been possible to successfully keep broken-off pieces of coral alive and settle them in so-called coral gardens.

The island's house reef has numerous valuable features. Credit: Baros Maldives

Coral Cube - a meaningful footprint

Now the Baros marine biology team is going one step further and introducing a new method for coral restoration on the reef. They are using "coral cubes": cube-shaped objects made of a concrete base to which broken-off pieces of coral that are still alive are attached. These coral cubes are placed in the area of the reef that is damaged or in distress. Since they are small and movable, but heavy and sturdy in time, they will not be washed away by the current. This method does not use plastics such as zip ties or other plastic items, but rather cubes made from wooden frames that can be reused as many times as needed. The corals then adhere directly to the natural product cement, which is the most environmentally friendly and leaves no artificial waste.

A new method is set to improve the implementation of coral protection. Credit: Baros Maldives

Resort guests can be active themselves

For visitors to Baros Maldives, the Coral Cube project is a wonderful opportunity to participate in a meaningful activity and learn about fragile corals and their habitat. Resort guests are invited free of charge to join this initiative, get involved in marine conservation and learn more about and experience the wonders of the ocean. The coral cubes that guests plant and place at various locations and depths in the reef will be carefully monitored by marine biologists to gather more data on this promising novel planting strategy. Those guests who wish to immortalize themselves underwater can initial the Coral Cubes.

Guests can help protect the reef with the Coral Cube. Credit: Baros Maldives

The exclusive resort Baros Maldives

The luxurious Baros Maldives is surrounded by coconut palms, tropical vegetation, an excellent house reef and the crystal clear waters of the Indian Ocean in North Malé Atoll. The architecture of the resort and its 75 villas (overwater and beach villas) blend perfectly with the natural surroundings of the small private island.