Over half of the coral reef cover across the world has been lost, and a further 70–90% of coral reefs are projected to decline at 1.5°C. To reverse marine biodiversity loss deriving from the significant decline of coral ecosystems, Delta has channeled resources into coral restoration since 2020. 

2020
At the start, we recruited corporate employees of Delta Electronics and trained these volunteers into certified divers, while collaborating with scientists to equip them with the best-available knowledge of coral ecosystems and restoration, including recognizing coral species, transplantation measures, and manipulating coral health check cards. 

2021
We consulted scientists and decided on a suitable location for coral restoration. Considering coral colonies in the South are moving to the North where waters are cooler and favorable to corals’ growth under climate change, we further partnered with a professional marine conservation team to turn an abandoned abalone culture pond along the northeast coast of Taiwan into a coral nursery and examined its potential to be a sanctuary for coral reefs in the future. 

Following UNEP's guideline for coral gardening, Delta started to foster coral fragments with an intermediate nursery phase, and transplanted grown-up corals back onto substrate along the northeast sea coast. Six types of corals (Acropora digitifera, Acropora intermedia, Acropora cervicornis, Montipora grisea, Pavona decussata, Pavona cactus), with 300 fragments, were successfully fostered and transplanted in this phase of restoration. The general coral survival rate reached 70%. 

2022
Delta expanded the restoration scale and collaborated with the National Museum of Marine Science & Technology to establish the Chaojing Coral Conservation Center, where coral asexual reproduction and restoration works are being proceeding to date. We together with scientists co-designed a set of aquaculture systems consisting of Delta's lighting and industrial automation solutions to create a nursery environment more favorable to corals' growth in the center. Catering to corals' growth in different phases and times, the light spectrum is tunable under programmable logic controller (PLC). As of 2022, we had made over 1,000 coral fragments with multiple species being fostered in the center to receive the stimulus of LED lighting, and the science-based statistics have shown that these batches of corals grow faster compared to their counterparts in the seas.  

On the other hand, we worked with the Museum of Marine Biology to train corporate volunteers to become qualified members of CoralNet, an international coral reef monitoring network featuring automatic analysis of coral reef images developed by the University of California, San Diego. The number of our volunteers now accounts for 80% of the total number of qualified volunteers with CoralNet certification in Taiwan. 

2023
Corals fostered in the conservation center and growing up to a size of 6-10 cm within a few months are continually transplanted back to the Choajing Marine Protected Area under Delta volunteers' assistance. The well-trained volunteers also take the job to monitor corals' growth underwater and remove intrusive algae every month. Through the systematic restoration works, we expect to foster 20 types of corals, including species having been listed as "endangered" and "vulnerable" like Pavona cactus and Pavona decussata, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, with up to 3,000-5,000 fragments every year.

Additionally, Delta establishes Coral Restoration Classroom in the National Museum of Marine Science & Technology, where we hold workshops on the weekend and allow the general populace to help fix coral fragments on the bases and experience the restoration process. The fragments are all sourced from the corals we have fostered on the northeast coast since 2021. In this way, we hope to make more people understand and take part in the coral restoration while ensuring our works cause no harmful impacts on the corals which originally grow in the wild. 

In the international coral community, the concept of resilience-based management (RBM), which identifies and prioritizes management actions that build the capacity of coral reefs to withstand and recover from external disturbances, is used to enhance restoration works globally. In the second half of 2023, Delta devotes resources to diving into the concept and expects to conduct multiple assessments after continual coral transplantation with scientists in the future to ensure our works are aligned with RBM principles.