Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary (BRMS) is an offshore continental shelf-patch reef in Sri Lanka that has been bleached. The area flourished with tourism-related businesses and the dependency of local livelihoods on the coastal ecosystem grew. The 2016 La -Nina/El-Nino reduced the live coral cover to less than 1% and the coral was turning to rubble. To allow the reef to recover its biodiversity, natural functions & to ensure the sustainability of their livelihoods, the community demarcated core areas & “A-Zone Left Aside for Restoration” were declared in 2018.

The main objective of this practice is to sustainably manage and protect BRMS by avoiding significant adverse impacts due to anthropogenic activities via strengthening resilience in sustaining green livelihoods, strengthening capacity in the community in natural resources management, and taking restorative action towards healthy and productive oceans. With the engagement of stakeholders, restoration of BRMS is in progress.