Preliminary Social Life Cycle Assessment of Coral Reef Regeneration in Sámara, Costa Rica via Proyecto Corales

Abstract

Proyecto Corales is a volunteer committee in the Bay of Samara that seeks to restore the coral reef in the area. With support from the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA), the group is the first community driven coral gardening project. In addition to performing coral gardening for the rehabilitation of the reef, the group seeks to educate the local community and society at large and to perform activities that will mitigate the decline of the reef. While many of the activities are planned, their full implementation has not been carried out. Because of this the analysis attempts to capture present and future impacts. The analysis presented here was carried out adapting the SLCA methodology recommended by the UN and SETAC to the local realities. Primary data gathering was done through focus groups with different stakeholders and this was complemented with desktop research. The analysis finds that Proyecto Corales provides significant beneficial social impacts. Successful restoration can add up to $350,000 per ha per year in economic benefits, while the group is increasing the protection of cultural assets, providing increases in skills and training, and generating access to local natural resources. However, the group needs to focus on its engagement with local community to increase awareness and transparency. This will not only increase their beneficial social impacts but increase their chances for success for other planned activities.