How the Tech4Nature project is combining underwater cameras, AI-powered image and video analysis, and diver-led science to strengthen coral reef monitoring in Kenya

Eleven kilometres off Shimoni on Kenya’s southern coast, three coral rag islands rise from some of the clearest waters in the Western Indian Ocean. Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park and Reserve has been under formal protection since 1973. The Marine Protected Area (MPA) is home to approximately 250 recorded fish species, 56 genera of coral, resident pods of bottlenose dolphins and nesting sea turtles. It is also one of East Africa’s best-known diving and snorkelling destinations.

The MPA is recognised for its science-based management approach, which actively engages stakeholders and experts in conservation planning and implementation. In 2021, it received a Gold Blue Park Award in recognition of its effective management and conservation outcomes. The site continues to advance best practices in governance, community engagement and biodiversity conservation, while safeguarding the ecosystem services that support fisheries, tourism and local livelihoods.

For many years, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has carried out ecological monitoring as part of the MPA’s management plan. This work has relied on underwater visual censuses conducted by snorkellers and divers, followed by analysis by fish taxonomists and coral experts. These surveys provide important information on fish biomass, species abundance and coral cover, helping managers understand the status and trends of the reef ecosystem.

In January 2025, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Huawei and KWS, in collaboration with the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) and the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), launched a three-year Tech4Nature project at Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Park and Reserve as part of the global TECH4ALL partnership.

Project launch event / © IUCN

The project aims to provide MPA managers with a clearer and more continuous picture of ecological changes within the coral reef ecosystem. Rather than replacing existing monitoring approaches, it strengthens them by providing additional data that can support adaptive management and informed conservation decisions.

The challenge technology is helping to address

Many of the challenges facing Kisite-Mpunguti are shared by Marine Protected Areas around the world. Illegal fishing can be difficult to detect and prevent across large areas of open water. Monitoring pressure from tourism requires continuous oversight, while limited staff and resources constrain the frequency and coverage of ecological surveys.

Traditional dive surveys provide valuable information but offer only periodic snapshots of reef conditions. They cannot capture changes occurring daily, seasonally or across the entire protected area. Tech4Nature seeks to address these gaps by combining multiple technologies with existing monitoring approaches.

The project focuses on three complementary components:

Underwater cameras and AI-powered species recognition

Fixed and deployable underwater cameras continuously record reef activity. Each camera system is connected to a control unit that stores data and is powered by a solar energy solution designed to provide a reliable source of clean energy.

Artificial intelligence models are being trained to identify target fish groups to the genus level from video footage. The system can help track ecologically important species such as parrotfish, butterflyfish and groupers, whose presence and abundance provide valuable insights into reef health.

Monitoring station / © IUCN

Photogrammetry

Photogrammetry uses overlapping underwater photographs and video footage to create highly detailed three-dimensional models of reef structures and coral cover.

These models provide a precise and repeatable method for monitoring physical changes in reef habitats over time, complementing traditional visual assessments and improving the ability to detect long-term trends.

Video frame for analysis / © IUCN

Adaptive management and strengthened governance

From the outset, the project has sought to improve overall management effectiveness within the MPA. A preliminary self-assessment against the IUCN Green List Standard identified opportunities to strengthen areas such as social inclusion and ecological monitoring.

As a result, several management practices have been enhanced, and the site is now a candidate for the IUCN Green List. The process aims to recognise effective and equitable management while promoting collaboration, learning and long-term benefits for local communities and ecosystems.

Training in the IUCN Green List Standard / © IUCN

Supporting these efforts is a bathymetric survey completed in 2025. The survey produced a high-resolution map of the seafloor around Lower Mpunguti Island, including depth gradients, reef slopes and seabed features. This information is helping project partners determine the most effective locations for underwater monitoring equipment, ensuring that data collection focuses on ecologically significant areas.

Why technology complements rather than replaces traditional monitoring

Reef monitoring at Kisite-Mpunguti did not begin with cameras or artificial intelligence. For decades, the site has relied on established scientific methods, including line-intercept and belt transect surveys conducted by trained divers. These surveys record coral cover, fish abundance and substrate composition at fixed locations over time, enabling researchers to track ecological change.

Monitoring activities are guided by the Strategic Adaptive Management (SAM) ecological monitoring programme and follow approaches used elsewhere along the Kenyan coast.

These diver-led surveys remain essential because they capture information that technology cannot always interpret. Experienced scientists can identify coral bleaching, disease outbreaks, unusual growth patterns and other ecological signals that may not yet be recognised by automated systems. Human expertise also provides the contextual understanding needed to interpret ecological conditions and trends.

What technology offers is continuity. Cameras can monitor reef environments around the clock, including during conditions that prevent field surveys. They can detect patterns and changes that might otherwise go unnoticed between survey periods.

The result is a more integrated monitoring system. Continuous data streams can help identify when and where changes are occurring, allowing managers and researchers to focus field surveys on priority areas. Photogrammetry provides a detailed baseline against which future observations can be compared, while traditional surveys continue to deliver the expert interpretation required for effective management.

Technology does not remove divers from the monitoring process. Instead, it helps ensure that their expertise is used where it can have the greatest impact.

From monitoring to management

The value of the data collected through Tech4Nature lies in its application to conservation management.

The project is designed to generate data-driven insights that can support decisions on patrol deployment, reef protection measures and visitor management. By improving understanding of ecological conditions and trends, managers can respond more effectively to emerging threats and conservation priorities.

The initiative has also strengthened collaboration among government agencies and research institutions, while supporting Kisite-Mpunguti’s progress towards IUCN Green List status, a global standard for effectively managed and fairly governed Protected and Conserved Areas.

Beyond Kenya, the project has broader regional relevance. Kisite-Mpunguti is emerging as a potential model for technology-supported management of Marine Protected Areas across the Western Indian Ocean. Lessons from integrating underwater sensors, artificial intelligence and traditional ecological monitoring may help inform conservation approaches in neighbouring countries facing similar challenges.

The bigger picture

Technology is not changing the foundations of conservation at Kisite-Mpunguti. The site’s success continues to depend on dedicated rangers, researchers, local communities and tourism operators who have worked together to protect the reef for more than 50 years.

What is changing is the amount of information available to those responsible for managing the ecosystem. Cameras cannot replace scientific judgement, but they can help direct attention to where it is needed most. They can help rangers identify areas that require closer observation and enable researchers to investigate changes more quickly.

For a reef system that attracts visitors throughout the year and spans an area too large to monitor continuously through field surveys alone, that additional visibility can make a significant difference.

As the Tech4Nature project progresses, Kisite-Mpunguti is demonstrating how technology and human expertise can work together to strengthen conservation outcomes and support the long-term protection of one of East Africa’s most important coral reef ecosystems.