Agus Joko Supriyatno farmed coral until exports were banned. Photo by Nathalie Bertrams.

Agus Joko Supriyatno farmed coral until exports were banned. Photo by Nathalie Bertrams.

"After the ban, I lost everything," says Agus Joko Supriyatno. "It cost me my house and my health." 

For years, the 52-year-old made his living as a cultivator of sustainable, farmed coral just off the coast of Nusa Lembongan, a small island near Bali. 

But when the Indonesian government banned all coral exports in 2018 to stop illegal harvesting of wild coral, hundreds of sustainable farms across the country collapsed. 

Mr Supriyatno had been supplying hundreds of pieces of coral per week to aquarium shops in Europe and China, where they are used in fish tanks for decoration. But his underwater farm went bust, and he ended up suffering a stroke, which he says was caused by the stress.

Read Nathalie Bertrams and my full story on BBC News.

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