Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000
• Model threats to coral reefs based upon population and development patterns,
landuse change, and the location and intensity of certain activities known to
degrade coral reefs (including watershed-based modelling of sediment
potentially impacting coral reefs);
• Develop a geographic information system (GIS)-based tool for more local-level
evaluation of development scenarios and related implications for coral reef
health and associated economic implications;
• Raise awareness about human threats to coral reefs through wide dissemination
of integrated data sets, model results, a published report, and the GIS planing
tool.
The development and dissemination of an integrated, spatially-referenced base of
information is the first step towards identifying causes of reef degradation. Regional-extent
data sets being assembled and improved, include data on coral reef and mangrove
locations, observations on coral condition (percent live coral cover, coral bleaching, coral
diseases, and incidence of destructive fishing), and location and effectiveness of marine
protected areas. In addition, land cover, elevation, bathymetry, hydrology, population
density, and infrastructure data sets are assembled as background data sets for the threat
modelling. The RRSEA project is implemented by WRI, in collaboration with over 20
international, national and more local partner institutions. A workshop on Reefs at Risk in
Southeast Asia was held in April 2000 near Manila, with over 40 participants who reviewed
and improved the base data sets and refined the model of threats to coral reefs. Although
the main product of RRSEA is a standardised indicator of human pressure on coral reefs, the
integrated database is an important related product. All project results and data will be
available from on the Internet, www.wri.org, upon completion of the project in mid-2001.
For additional information on the Reefs at Risk project, contact: Lauretta Burke, World
Resources Institute, 10 G Street NE, Washington, DC 20009, USA; Tel: +1 202 729 7774; Fax:
+1 202 729 7775; e.mail: lauretta@wri.org
UNEP - UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME
The mission of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is to provide leadership
and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and
enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of
future generations. UNEP makes a particular effort to nurture partnerships and enhancing the
participation of civil society – the private sector, scientific community, NGOs and youth - in
the achievement of sustainable development. Today, the challenge before UNEP is to
implement an environmental agenda that is integrated strategically with the goals of
economic development and social well-being – an agenda for sustainable development.
Contacts: P.O. Box 30552 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: (254 2) 621234; Fax: (254 2) 623927/623692/623404; Cpiinfo@unep.org:
www.unep.org
UNEP - WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE
There is a major focus on reef-related issues at UNEP-WCMC, including reef mapping,
maintaining a global database on marine protected areas, monitoring trade in corals and
other marine ornamentals, and looking at the global distribution of threats, including coral
disease and coral bleaching. A major product from this work will be the World Atlas of
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