Restoring Coral Reefs: Reef Renewal Project

As Van der Valk Plaza Beach & Dive Resort Bonaire, we participate in the Reef Renewal Bonaire project. The goal is to restore and protect coral reefs in Bonaire. The Reef Renewal Bonaire project achieves this by placing frames in the sea. The frames are used to grow coral fragments, which are then replanted back into the sea. You can also find these coral frames at our own house reef right in front of our Plaza beach. Because we consider the protection of coral reefs extremely important, our dive instructors from Toucan Diving are also certified to train other instructors for the Reef Renewal Project and thus protect even more coral reefs.

About Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire

Since 2012, Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire has been working on the restoration of Bonaire's coral reefs through innovative coral farming and restoration techniques.

Why this is important right now

One of the biggest threats to the Bonairean reef is Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, a disease that spreads rapidly and can affect large sections of coral in a short time. Species such as maze coral are now considered critically endangered. In places where the reef appeared stable for years, populations can decline sharply in just a few months.

This is precisely why the restoration work is so valuable. By cultivating and replanting healthy fragments, the reef gradually gains more resilience. It is not a quick fix, as coral grows slowly. But without this work, it does not recover at all.

Live coral is an animal, not a rock

Knowing this changes the way you see the reef. Coral consists of tiny polyp animals that obtain their energy in two ways. They live together with microscopic algae that produce sugars via sunlight, and they also capture food particles such as plankton from the water themselves.

This makes coral vulnerable to anything that disrupts that balance: water that's too warm, cloudy seas, too many people swimming too close to the reef. Restoration projects help not only by replanting coral but also by raising awareness. How you behave in the sea really matters.

What Plaza and Toucan Diving do

As Plaza Beach & Dive Resort Bonaire, we support Reef Renewal Bonaire in a practical way. On our house reef, directly in front of the beach, there are coral frames that are part of the project. You may encounter them during a regular snorkel or dive.

In addition, diving instructors from Toucan Diving are certified to train other instructors within the Reef Renewal Project. This way, knowledge and capacity grow on the island, and each season contributes to the next.

What you can do yourself

Coral restoration is the work of specialists, but protecting the reef is something everyone can do. A few habits that matter more than you think:

Look, but don't touch anything. Even dead coral is a habitat for small animals. Stay horizontal while snorkeling so you don't accidentally touch the bottom or the reef. Leave nothing behind in the sea, not even what you didn't bring yourself. Choose a UV-shirt instead of constantly reapplying sunscreen. And follow the local rules for diving and snorkeling, because they are there for good reason.

On an island where the sea is so close, every gesture counts.

Seeing the reef differently

Once you know what happens beneath the surface, you see Bonaire differently. You see not only color but also structure: the places where coral fish hide, the fragments that slowly grow, the work that becomes visible step by step.

Reef Renewal Bonaire does this work calmly and with a focus on the long term. Plaza supports this in a down-to-earth way, close to home, in the sea where you already go into the water every day.