PEOPLE-ECCO and Reef Check Malaysia meet on Coral Triangle Day to co-design tools for coral reef conservation

The morning session opened with and introduction by Jasper Van doninck, ITC researcher and technical manager of PEOPLE-ECCO. He outlined how Earth Observation can support conservation organisations by covering large geographic areas over long and regular time series.

Julian Hyde, CEO of Reef Check Malaysia, then provided the local context; despite having thousands of square kilometres of coral reef, Malaysia does not yet have a complete picture of where these habitats are located. While Reef Check Malaysia conducts annual surveys at over 300 reef sites, there are still significant gaps. Hyde highlighted RCM's role as Early Adopter in the project and the potential of satellite-based tools to help address these gaps.    

The morning session brought together PEOPLE-ECCO consortium partners and Reef Check Malaysia's local network

Gyde Krüger from DHI presented the technical work on mapping coral reef and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) through the PEOPLE-ECCO project.

The presentation covered three marine solutions currently under development: ecosystem characterisation, temporal persistence and change, and habitat metrics.

Following a coffee break, Matthes Rieke from 52°North joined remotely from Germany to demonstrate the PEOPLE-ECCO marine mapping tool, an interface that allows conservation practitioners to map and inspect coral reef and aquatic vegetation.

The afternoon session continued with hands-on testing of the platform. Participants received individual user access and worked directly with the tools guided by the PEOPLE-ECCO team. This provided an opportunity for Reef Check Malaysia's team and their local network to interact and provide immediate feedback on usability.

The feedback gathered during the workshop will be incorporated into the final stages of the project to improve its outputs, as PEOPLE-ECCO approaches its conclusion in September 2026. This follows PEOPLE-ECCO's co-design principles, ensuring that the tools developed are shaped by the organisations that will use them.

The tools and algorithms developed through the project will be available as open-source software, and all training materials, including the free online courses on Earth Observation for ecosystem conservation, developed by PEOPLE-ECCO and hosted on Geoversity, remain open for registration.

Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) is a non-profit organisation registered in 2007, committed to healthy oceans in Malaysia. RCM conducts annual monitoring of over 300 coral reef sites, engages local communities in marine conservation, and works with government agencies and partners to improve the management of coral reefs in the country.

If you are interested in the activities of Reef Check Malaysia, you can learn more about them via their official website.