---
id: engines/wansec
about:
  label: 'Wave Attenuation: Natural Solutions with Elkhorn Coral (WANSEC)'
  description: >-
    Caribbean project testing whether dense restored stands of elkhorn coral
    reduce wave energy and sediment movement along coasts, with sites in
    Jamaica, Barbados and Antigua & Barbuda; funded by the Caribbean
    Biodiversity Fund.
  tags:
    - coral
    - restoration
    - wave attenuation
    - coastal protection
    - caribbean
    - elkhorn
tool:
  homepage: >-
    https://www.mona.uwi.edu/mori/research-spotlight/wave-attenuation-natural-solutions-elkhorn-coral-wansec
  form: research project
provenance:
  origin: agent
  sources:
    - title: >-
        Wave Attenuation: Natural Solutions with Elkhorn Coral (WANSEC) | The
        Mona Office for Research and Innovation (MORI)
      url: >-
        https://www.mona.uwi.edu/mori/research-spotlight/wave-attenuation-natural-solutions-elkhorn-coral-wansec
    - title: >-
        National Parks Authority announces completion of the WANSEC project –
        National Parks Antigua
      url: >-
        https://www.nationalparksantigua.com/national-parks-authority-announces-completion-of-the-wansec-project/
  created: '2026-10-17'
  reviewed: '2026-10-17'
  reviewed_by: 'Claude, from the sources listed'
  status: draft
import:
  source: openai-linkedin-scrape 2026-10-17
  id: DT036
  kind: simulation_case
  family: models_simulations_and_forecasts
  priority: high
  verified: true
  posts:
    - P059
  posters:
    - Michael Beck
domains:
  - ecology
  - water
relations:
  - predicate: built_on
    target: engines/openfoam
    note: uses solver (source_claim; exact implementation not independently tested)
  - predicate: built_on
    target: engines/paraview
    note: >-
      visualizes with (source_claim; exact implementation not independently
      tested)
---
WANSEC is a regional research and restoration project, profiled by the University of the West Indies at Mona, on whether thickets of elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) can serve as a natural coastal defence by taking energy out of waves and trapping sediment. It pairs coral restoration with coastal risk modelling and adaptive management tools at field sites in Jamaica, Barbados and Antigua & Barbuda, and is backed by US$2 million from the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund.

In Antigua and Barbuda the National Parks Authority planted about 2,500 elkhorn colonies in Rendezvous Bay, inside Nelson's Dockyard National Park, at an average density of one coral per square metre, with the aim of growing dense stands that restore reef function over time; the same high-density approach was used on all three islands. Severe bleaching during the fourth global mass bleaching event killed much of the Antiguan nursery and parent stock, so the project shifted toward propagating colonies that survived the heat. It also trained community members in restoration and started doctoral research on the distribution and genetic diversity of elkhorn coral across the Eastern Caribbean.

The project's intended outputs are replicable restoration strategies, stakeholder training and policy guidance for coral-based coastal protection in Caribbean small island states. Details of the modelling work are not given on the pages read.

The Antigua and Barbuda component was announced complete on 26 August 2026.