Grants Opportunity

The PADI Foundation provides small grants (up to $20k but typically around $ 5-10 K), and in the past has funded many projects involvingf coral reef ecology and/or marine protected areas. Applications are 3 pages maximum, and are due January 15.For more information and application instructions see www.padifoundation.org

Reefbase Pacific has collated reference manuals, guidebooks and tools into the Reef Manager ToolBox to assist managers from the Pacific region in the effective monitoring and management of reef resources. The Toolbox can be accessed from:

http://www.reefbase.org/pacific/toolbox.aspx

Recommendations for Coral Reef Conservation to the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress

CaMMESEC Bulletin - Issue 2

The second issue of the Coastal and Marine Management and Education in the Southeastern Caribbean Project (CaMMESEC) bulletin is now available detailing the latest progress made.

For more information and updates on the project click here

South Asia MCPA Information Portal

The South Asia MCPA Information Portal is now online. The portal is an interactive platform that has been developed to facilitate regional communication linkages and improve access to, and sharing of, information relevant to MCPAs in the five maritime nations of South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). There are already over 400 interesting resources, papers and tools uploaded into the database. The Portal is an initiative of the South Asia MCPA Project. Visit the site: www.southasiamcpaportal.org

Launch of the South Asia Managers Toolkit at WCC

Managers of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MCPAs) are faced with diverse and evolving challenges, often in remote locations, and without easy reference to sources of information or help.

To support managers in South Asia in their efforts, a toolkit was designed as a hands on guide to all stages of MCPA establishment and management. Over 40 regional and international experts contributed to the South Asia Toolkit to share lessons learned and showcase regional success stories.

The toolkit was tested at a regional training workshop for managers in the Maldives in June 2008, feedback incorporated, and then launched at the 4th World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October 2008.

Launch of CORALI products
In 2006 IUCN, CORDIO and IMM joined forces under the collaborative Coral Reefs and Livelihood Initiative (CORALI) to better support livelihood development in coral reef conservation efforts, and to further develop and validate a participatory approach to sustainable livelihood enhancement and diversification in reef dependent communities in South Asia. Following successful field trials of the approach in 6 countries the team is ready to present their findings.

The following three products were launched at the 4th World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October 2008:

• Systematic Approaches to Livelihood Enhancement and Diversification: A Review of Global Experiences
• Sustainable Livelihood Enhancement and Diversification: A Manual for Practitioners
• SocMon South Asia Monitoring Guidelines

CSI
A regional CSI workshop under the global Coral Reef CSI training programme for effective enforcement was conducted in Malaysia in September. Click here for more information.

Sustainable Tourism Best Practice Case Studies
International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) have committed to bringing together case studies on sustainable tourism to promote best practices. The second case study showcases Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) activities under the regional ICRAN Mesoamerican Reef Alliance (MAR) project. Our thanks to Anja Mondragon of CORAL for her efforts in generating this case study.

Regional MCPA Managers Training.
A regional training workshop was conducted for Marine and Coastal Protected Area (MCPA) managers in South Asia, to develop the skills of particiants through interactive management training scenarios, and to provide opportunity for the target audience to review the content and structure of a new training manual prepared for the region. See the full report

In partnership with UNDP's Equator Initiative www.equatorinitiative.org, ICRAN hosted a workshop on "Community Responses to the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Tropical Marine Ecosystems" at the Convention on Biological Diversity COP9 in Bonn, Germany.

ICRAN are supporting the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) committee on Coral Reef Enforcement and Natural Resource Investigation, through the implementation of regional coral reef Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) field training workshops. The first CSI newsletter is now available for viewing...

Under the ICRAN/Buccoo Reef Trust (BRT) Project 'Coastal and Marine Management and Education in the Southeastern Caribbean', representatives of government, NGOs and the tourism industry attended a training workshop in the economic valuation of coral reefs, lead by the World Resources Institute (WRI). Training was provided in an economic valuation methodology and spreadsheet-based tool developed by WRI for estimating the economic value of coral reefs through tourism, recreation and fisheries.

The World Ocean Day allows us to collectively engage the global audience in conserving the ocean we all share. In order to better make the connection between climate change and the health of our world's ocean, The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network are encouraging partners to focus on "helping our climate, helping our ocean". For more information, visit: www.theoceanproject.org/wod/