Under funding from the US Department of State a regional workshop was conducted with coordination support from Reef Check Dominican Republic. The workshop gathered 18 participants from 6 countries in the region. 18 representatives from government agencies, scientific institutions, enforcement institutions, NGOs and natural resource trustees made up the group. The Dominican Republic (DR), which … Read more
Vietnam faces serious threats to its coral reefs, including blast and poison fishing, boat and anchor damage, over-fishing, and extraction for cement production and the marine ornamentals trade. Coral has been used to make cement in the Ninh Thuan Province since 1979. Originally, dead coral was harvested from farming land, but as supplies dwindled, mining … Read more
Coral Reefs are vital ecosystems. They shelter a vast amount of marine biodiversity and sustain millions of people through the services they provide: fishing, tourism and protection from erosion and storm surges. Unfortunately reefs worldwide are under tremendous pressure and are struggling to survive. Climate change, destructive fishing practices, river run-off, marine pollution and poorly … Read more
Coral reefs are critical to the economic development of Pacific Island Countries, in particular through tourism and fisheries. However an estimated 40 % of the Pacific coral reefs are endangered. A regional initiative for the protection and management of coral reefs in the South Pacific, CRISP, prepared by the French Development Agency (AFD), aims to … Read more
Coral reefs are among the oldest ecosystems on Earth. Coral reefs are the largest living structure on the planet, and the only living structure to be visible from space. The Great Barrier Reef (off the coast of NE Australia) is the largest coral reef in the world. It is over 1,257 miles (2000 km) long. … Read more
The International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) is an innovative and dynamic network of many of the world’s leading coral reef science and conservation organisations. The network consolidates technical and scientific expertise in reef monitoring and management to create strategically linked actions across local, national and global scales. ICRAN is thus the first alliance to … Read more
Regardless of region, most coral reef ecosystems are under various levels of anthropogenic impact. In areas where a management plan is in place with regulations outlined to protect the marine environment, management authorities are often limited in resources to enforce those regulations. The capacity of resource managers to respond to short-term human impact incidences is … Read more
Ten years ago, 1997 was declared the International Year of the Reef (IYOR). This was in response to the increasing threats and loss of coral reefs and associated ecosystems, such as mangroves and sea grasses. IYOR was a global effort to increase awareness and understanding on the value of and threats to coral reefs, and … Read more