Impacts of Swahili Coral Harvesting

This project aims to dive deep into the historical use of reef coral along the Swahili coast and how the harvesting of corals from the genus Porites may have altered the biodiversity and resilience of reefs in this region. Preliminary research from the sites of Kilwa and Songo Mnara indicates that early use of large amounts of coral may have changed behavior around the harvesting and use of coral in later generations of Swahili communities. The project will employ principles from ecology, archaeology, and geology to look at a variety of emerging questions around human-environment interactions. In the process of answering some of the aforementioned questions, the project will work with communities along the east African coast to identify how past knowledge may contribute to the resilience of the coral reefs in the Western Indian Ocean and the communities who rely on these reefs.