The Global Seagrass Challenge: Mapping and monitoring seagrass
Challenge 2: Obtaining and maintaining information on seagrass status and condition
Why this matters
Effective seagrass conservation depends on accurate, up-to-date information on where seagrass occurs, how extensive it is, and what condition it is in. Yet across much of the world, seagrass data remain fragmented, outdated, or entirely absent. Without reliable baseline information and ongoing monitoring, declines can go unnoticed, recovery efforts cannot be targeted, and the impacts of management interventions cannot be evaluated.
The lack of consistent data also limits the ability of funders, decision makers, implementors, and conservation practitioners to prioritise action and allocate resources strategically and in ways that are responsive to local priorities. Seagrass meadows are dynamic systems, sensitive to local pressures such as water quality, fishing activity, and coastal development, as well as global stressors including climate change. Understanding how these pressures affect seagrass condition over time is essential for designing evidence-based conservation, and policy responses.
Obtaining and maintaining robust information on seagrass status and condition is, therefore, a fundamental requirement for conservation. Without it, conservation efforts risk being reactive, inefficient, or misdirected.
Our journey
Through collaborative, multi-scale approaches that combine scientific rigour with local engagement, our ongoing partnerships across the globe facilitate the generation, coordination, and maintenance of high-quality seagrass data.
Working with partners across the Western Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean we have supported field-based assessments of seagrass meadows and their associated fish, invertebrate and megafauna assemblages; species crucial to food security, livelihoods, and cultural importance. These assessments have also provided critical insights into seagrass extent, species composition, indicators of condition, and the role of seagrass meadows as habitat for ecologically and economically important species and charismatic megafauna.
The collection, integration, and sharing of data have helped to:
- establish baseline conditions against which future change can be measured,
- strengthen understanding of seagrass–fisheries linkages, and
- inform locally relevant management and conservation planning.
Complementing these site-based endeavours, we also lead the development of SeagrassSpotter, a global citizen science initiative designed to address large-scale data gaps in seagrass mapping and monitoring. SeagrassSpotter enables community members, practitioners, and ocean users everywhere to contribute georeferenced observations of seagrass presence and condition, significantly expanding data coverage in regions where formal monitoring is limited or absent.
The development and dissemination of SeagrassSpotter has, to date:
- enabled cost-effective, scalable seagrass mapping at global and regional scales,
- increased local engagement in seagrass monitoring and stewardship, and
- generated open, usable datasets that support research, planning, and advocacy.
Working in partnership with local and international organisations underpins conservation action at multiple scales by enabling the generation, collation, and analysis of data, ranging from detailed ecological assessments to global data mobilisation.
Why this moment matters
Robust data systems are the backbone of effective seagrass conservation. By investing in the Global Seagrass Challenge Fund, your support can facilitate:
- evidence-based decision-making and prioritisation,
- improved targeting of conservation investments, and
- stronger learning both locally and globally.
By combining scientific assessments with innovative citizen science approaches, our partnerships are building the knowledge infrastructure needed to safeguard seagrass ecosystems in the long term.
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.
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.