Dewi Kristiana

Ocean conservationist restoring Indonesia's coral reefs

Dewi Kristiana is a marine biologist and founder of the Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) Indonesia, leading efforts to revive coral reefs critical to the world's marine biodiversity. Based in Bali, she pioneered the Coral IVF technique to accelerate reef regeneration, a method now used globally. Her work addresses the 80% coral loss in Indonesia's waters due to climate change and overfishing, impacting 50 million coastal residents.

Since 2019, Kristiana's team has restored over 10,000 square meters of coral using innovative floating nurseries and community-driven replanting programs. Her partnership with UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program established the Bali Coral Corridor, connecting 25 marine protected areas. In 2023, she won the Global Biodiversity Award from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Kristiana's approach emphasizes community education through CRF Indonesia's Eco Schools program, training over 10,000 students annually. Her research published in Nature Climate Change demonstrates how restored reefs reduce coastal erosion by 70%. She advises the Indonesian government's Blue Economy initiative and appeared in the Netflix documentary Oceans: Our Blue Planet.

Her vision extends to carbon sequestration through reef restoration, with pilot projects in Raja Ampat showing 30% higher CO2 absorption rates. Kristiana's work was featured in National Geographic's 2024 Ocean Issue as a blueprint for coral restoration worldwide.