Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000
existing monitoring programmes to be continued through provision of fundamental material
support to the IOC countries. A methods guide ‘Coral reef state monitoring in the southwest
Indian Ocean’ was developed from the GCRMN recommended methods and
published in 1997 and is now available in both print and CD-ROM formats in English and
French. The bleaching in 1998 caught the countries of the region off guard with only a few
monitoring projects in place. If bleaching strikes again, the countries will be prepared for
both rapid and long-term assessment of impacts and recovery.
Establishment of a regional database compatible for the countries of this region and the
broader GCRMN global network is underway, utilizing AIMS Science Reef Monitoring Data
Entry System which enables the storage and processing of monitoring data for benthic
cover, incidence of bleaching, fish counts and separation into feeding groups, and is
available in Microsoft Access 97. It is being successfully implemented in IOC countries via
specific training courses.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To improve conservation in the region, there is a requirement to:
• improve capacity in coastal management (in parallel with monitoring capacity
being developed) and ensure that countries have the funding to employ trained
people in functional roles of coral reef resource management;
• establish many more and larger Marine Protected Areas with adequate planning,
involvement of communities and effective enforcement so that these can serve
as fisheries replenishment areas;
• develop better legal instruments for coastal conservation and ensure that intersectoral
problems are minimised through the formation of high level
coordination bodies in each country; and
• provide better education to all communities and other stakeholders in the value
of coral reefs and in effective measures for their conservation.
The national monitoring network focal points have recommended the following to maintain
long-term effectiveness of the network after 2000 through the regional network:
• facilitate the urgent appointment of a regional coordinating organisation by the
IOC;
• request the regional coordinators develop an action plan, to facilitate continued
reef monitoring, operation, workshops, reports;
• implement the GEF funding plan, to ensure the long-term functioning of the reef
network and monitoring beyond 2000 and coordinate such with EU funds to
ensure cooperation with relevant IOC programmes (ecotoxicology, coastal
erosion, pollution, etc.);
• implement national 2000 monitoring programmes funded by the REP-IOC to
enable continued monitoring and set up the database for decision-makers in
coral reef management, and continue training, especially in method evaluation
and data quality control;
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