GCRMN - 2008 status

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008

This Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008 report is the 5th global report since the GCRMN (Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network), was formed in 1996.

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008
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This Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008 report is the 5th global report since the GCRMN (Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network), was formed in 1996 as an operational network of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI).

The catalyst for GCRMN was the inability of international agencies to report objectively on the health or otherwise of the world’s coral reefs.

The US government then provided initial funding to set up a global network of coral reef workers to facilitate reporting on reef status; and has continued to be the major supporter of GCRMN and ICRI since the first strategies and action plans were developed in 1995.

Each report (1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004) has aimed to present the current status of the world’s coral reefs, the threats to the reefs, and the initiatives being undertaken under the umbrella of ICRI to arrest the decline in the world’s coral reefs.

These reports have been produced using the data and information from many coral reef experts around the world. For example 372 experts from 96 countries have contributed to this Status report.

Many regional, national and local organisations, governmental, academic, NGO and volunteers have supported the functions of GCRMN.

The united goal is to inform the global community on the status of coral reefs, the threats to them and, importantly, to list recommendations to improve coral reef conservation.

There is widespread recognition that action is needed urgently, not only to conserve the enormous biodiversity on coral reefs, but also to assist local user communities to improve their livelihoods by ensuring the sustainable use of the reefs.

The Management Group of GCRMN have supported the production of Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008, although the GCRMN Coordinator, Clive Wilkinson, assumes responsibility for many of the statements, conclusions and recommendations and final wording of the text.

The Management Group consists of the following international agencies: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO; UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme; IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature (and Management Group Chair); Environment Department of the World Bank; Convention on Biological Diversity; ReefBase at The WorldFish Center; Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority of Australia; and the Secretariat of the International Coral Reef Initiative (currently the governments of Mexico and US).

Much of the strength of the GCRMN is through the partner networks, specifically GCRMN SocMon (Socioeconomic Monitoring Initiative for Coastal Management), the Reef Check Foundation, CRISP – the Coral Reef Initiatives for the Pacific, CORDIO – Coastal Oceans Research and Development, Indian Ocean, and the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre in northern Australia which hosts the global coordination office.

These organisations represent thousands of people with the goal of improving research, management, sustainable use and conservation of coral reefs and associated tropical coastal ecosystems, and in assisting coastal people achieve a better standard of life.

The structure of this Status 2008 report follows previous reports in having 17 node chapters from coral reef regions around the world, with most of the contributions coming voluntarily from people coordinating and associated with these nodes.

Also included are an update on old water coral reefs and two theme papers presenting the latest information on global climate change and how this will affect coral reefs. We have also included a section on new emerging themes and reports from the major project activities around the world; others are to be found as boxes within the regional chapters.

The GCRMN Management Group and the many supporters of the GCRMN listed below recommend this Status 2008 report to you and request that you consider the findings and recommendations and join them in seeking more action to reverse the damaging trends that
are occurring on reefs around the world.

The Executive Summary: the Status of Coral Reefs in 2008

This Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008 report from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network summarises what has happened to the world’s coral reefs since 2004 and uses expert opinion of coral reef scientists and managers from 96 countries and states to make predictions on what could happen to coral reefs in the future.

This combined expertise also seeks to provide advice to the world’s decision makers on what should be done to allow us to bequeath healthy coral reefs to future generations.

The release of this report coincides with the end of the International Year of the Reef (IYOR 2008), which has focussed considerable global attention on coral reefs.

One of the signs of progress in coral reef awareness and monitoring are the numbers of authors and contributors to these Status reports. There were 41 contributing authors in 1998; 97 in 2000; 151 in 2002; and 240 in 2004. In this Status 2008 report there are 372 authors and contributors.

These numbers also reflect considerable advances in monitoring in many countries of the world, with some long-term data sets being contributed and reports coming in from countries not reported previously — Timor Leste, island states of the Lesser Antilles and isolated French Islands.

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