Mahonia Na Dari: Guardians of Kimbe Bay's Coral Triangle Reefs

Mahonia Na Dari ('Guardian of the Sea' in the local Bakovi language) began in 1997 through a partnership between The Nature Conservancy, the EU Islands Region Environmental Programme and Walindi Plantation Resort, and was registered as an independent PNG NGO in 1998. That same year it helped the Kilu community establish Kimbe Bay's first no-take Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA), a model it has since extended to other coastal communities to protect coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and turtle nesting beaches in one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on Earth. Its Marine Environment Education Program (MEEP) has reached more than 150,000 students, teachers and community members with hands-on marine science and conservation training since the centre opened. Mahonia Na Dari also hosts researchers studying Kimbe Bay's reefs and trains PNG's next generation of marine conservationists.