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The Global Seagrass Challenge: Building the evidence to support action

Join the Global Seagrass Challenge

Challenge 5: Generating scientific research to support conservation actions

Why this matters

Sound conservation action must be underpinned by robust scientific evidence. Without credible data, conservation actions risk lacking legitimacy, failing to achieve desired outcomes, resulting in unintended consequences, or simply being difficult to justify.

Many organisations working on the ground recognise the importance of evidence to underpin conservation decision-making, whether a scientific article to present to policy makers, or visual data to engage communities. Yet organisations, teams and individuals, face numerous and diverse barriers to accessing and generating evidence. Barriers can include, but are not limited to, technical capacity, equipment, methodological support, or funding availability. Bridging these spaces between science and practice are essential for promoting, supporting, scaling up effective seagrass conservation.

Our journey

Recognising that many partners seek to demonstrate and evidence the outcomes of their conservation actions, over the last 12 years, we’ve focused on building practical research capacity alongside data collection, analysis and reporting to inform conservation decision-making.

A key element of this work has been supporting partners to develop and implement Baited Remote Underwater Video systems (BRUVs). These non-extractive tools enable monitoring of fish communities associated with seagrass meadows, generating robust evidence of biodiversity value and conservation impact, while also developing video resources that are vital for stakeholder engagement. Through partnerships across the global ocean this work has supported locally led seagrass and fish surveys that directly inform tailored conservation planning and evaluation.

Alongside applied monitoring, we have partnered with a wide network of organisations to deliver complementary research that strengthens the global evidence base for seagrass conservation. This research spans investigations into the micronutrient value of seagrass-associated fish species and their contribution to human nutrition and wellbeing; evaluations of the unintended social and ecological consequences of sustainable development projects (on seagrass social-ecological systems); assessments of seed-based restoration planting techniques; reviews of impact of seaweed farming on seagrass meadows; and the creation of the Dugong and Seagrass Research Toolkit, an open-access online toolkit designed to support others in conducting their own rigorous, high-quality research.

Through training, methodological guidance, and ongoing technical support, we have supported partners to:

  • design scientifically robust monitoring and evaluation programmes,
  • generate credible evidence to underpin conservation decisions, and
  • strengthen the link between scientific evidence and on-the-ground action.

Why this moment matters

Working across our partnerships, we have strengthened our ability to translate scientific methods into accessible, field-ready tools for conservation. Funding the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund will support our partners in developing:

  • stronger evidence for the need for, and the effectiveness of, seagrass conservation,
  • increased credibility and trust across diverse decision-making and implementation contexts, and
  • evidence-led learning and adaptation.

 

Strengthening the scientific foundation of seagrass conservation helps to ensure that actions are informed by evidence.

Thank you

If you would like to join the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund, or to learn more about becoming part of this collective, we would love to hear from you.

To start a conversation, please contact us by email at globalchallenge@projectseagrass.org.

There is still time to meet the challenges facing seagrass conservation — and to be part of a small, committed group helping shape a more just and resilient future for coastal ecosystems. Through the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund, we are working alongside communities and partners worldwide to support conservation that is equitable, evidence-informed, and grounded in place.

We look forward to hearing from you and exploring how, together, we can help secure a future for seagrass meadows and the people who depend on them.

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The other challenges we tackle together

As part of the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund, you stand alongside a committed collective meeting the most pressing challenges facing seagrass conservation worldwide.

1. Making seagrass visible
You can help bring seagrass into the spotlight by building awareness and understanding of these vital coastal ecosystems that support fisheries, protect shorelines, strengthen climate resilience, and sustain coastal communities
More on this challenge
2. Mapping and monitoring seagrass
Your support helps close critical knowledge gaps by strengthening access to reliable, locally relevant information on seagrass extent and condition, turning data into evidence-led, locally grounded conservation action.
More on this challenge
3. Understanding local threats to target action
With your help, local, specific pressures on seagrass can be identified and addressed by partners, enabling community-led action, diagnosis of threats and the shaping of realistic, on-the-ground conservation responses.
More on this challenge
4. Balancing the needs of people and planet
Your contribution helps ensure equitable seagrass conservation approaches that support livelihoods, food security, and cultural connections alongside ecosystem health, recognising people as integral to conservation success.
More on this challenge
6. Conserving seagrass in a changing climate
Your contribution supports climate-informed conservation that is resilient to uncertainty, enabling protection and restoration that is grounded in evidence and adaptive environmental conditions.
More on this challenge