The Foundation launches the Tonga Coral Reef Education and Outreach program aimed at Tongan schools, communities, tourists, and government officials through out the Ha’apai and Vava’u island groups. The program is designed to collaborate with local Tongan communities to fill knowledge gaps and provide information to help them protect their resources while providing the Foundation’s science team the opportunity to acquire local knowledge from those actually using the resources.
Meet IFAN: Helping Bring Navigate with Care to the Next Generation
If you’ve ever seen a lighthouse flashing from the shore or a brightly colored buoy bobbing in the water, you’ve seen Aids to Navigation at work.
Aids to Navigation, often called AtoNs, help mariners navigate safely. They can mark channels, warn of hazards, help vessels determine their position, and provide other information people need to make safe decisions on the water. Around the world, these systems help guide everything from small recreational boats to large commercial or container ships.
But safe navigation isn’t only about protecting vessels and the people aboard them. The choices mariners make can also affect the animals and ecosystems beneath and around them.
That connection between maritime safety and ocean conservation is at the heart of this year’s Science Without Borders® Challenge—and of our partnership with this year’s theme sponsor, the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN).
