evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Tidal Moon Seagrass Restoration — Indigenous-Led Recovery of Shark Bay's Heatwave-Damaged Meadows

Australia · Denham · See the Australia profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 58% 40/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Tidal Moon, an Indigenous-owned enterprise, is replanting seagrass meadows in Shark Bay, Western Australia — home to endangered dugongs — after a 2011 marine heatwave killed up to 70% of the bay's seagrass and released an estimated 9 million tonnes of carbon.

up to 70%
Seagrass lost in 2011 heatwave
up to 9 million tonnes
Carbon estimated released by heatwave
AUD 2.2 million
BHP Foundation Blue Carbon grant (2023)
up to 100 ha
Restoration target area
Tidal Moon Seagrass Restoration — Indigenous-Led Recovery of Shark Bay's Heatwave-Damaged Meadows

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Tidal Moon (Malgana Traditional Owner enterprise) / BHP Foundation / University of Western Australia
Period
2023-present (restoration); 2011 marine heatwave as baseline damage event
Keywords
Indigenous-led conservation, marine science, corporate philanthropy

Context

A 2011 marine heatwave killed up to 70% of the seagrass in Shark Bay (Gathaagudu), Western Australia, home to one of the world's largest single organisms, and is estimated to have released up to 9 million tonnes of carbon.

Activities

Tidal Moon, an enterprise owned by Malgana Traditional Owners, is leading the restoration response using techniques developed with the University of Western Australia, aiming to restore up to 100 hectares of degraded meadow; in 2023 the BHP Foundation awarded the project a AUD 2.2 million Blue Carbon grant.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — AUD 2.2 million BHP Foundation Blue Carbon grant (2023) funds the restoration effort.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Restoration under way following the 2011 heatwave; most recent reporting shows work still in progress.
Staffing & skills
Tidal Moon (Malgana Traditional Owner enterprise) restoration crews, University of Western Australia researchers

Conditions for success

  • Indigenous-led restoration drawing on Malgana sea-country knowledge
  • AUD 2.2 million BHP Foundation Blue Carbon grant

Common failure modes

  • independent verification of carbon-sequestration outcomes not yet published

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful