Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000
with adequate training in this complex area of coral reef and coastal management and
conservation. This capacity gap has been mentioned in all priority-setting workshops with
donors and implementing agencies. The quality of coral reef monitoring methods is
improving in all countries with increasing technical capability of staff, yet some monitoring
programmes continue using outdated methods that are derived more by institutional
history than data quality. Another recurring theme is the lack of connection between
science and management, both from the outputs offered by scientists, and the use of
scientific findings by managers. Greater involvement by managers and scientists together in
the formulation and reporting of research and monitoring programmes is necessary.
Another gap is in the integration of users and their knowledge base in management,
particularly where there is a lack of information and expertise within the management team.
Trans-boundary and cross-border issues in management of coral reefs are increasingly
becoming apparent though there is currently little integration across national borders. Many
of the threats are common to most countries, such as natural threats (El Niño) and artisanal
fishing, or there is a spill-over of threats from one country to the next e.g. destructive fishing
practises across the Tanzania-Kenya border and scuba diving tourism in South Africa
moving into southern Mozambique. The most significant cross-border differences are in
political and administrative areas, where technical resources, protected area and coastal
management policy and practice may be completely different or even at odds.
Improvements in these areas will require increased professionalism and commitment to
objectives within East African institutions, as well as more rationalised donor and outsideagency
support to coral reef and MPA initiatives in the region.
CORE CONCLUSIONS
• East African coral reefs have faced increasing threats throughout the last decades
of the 20 th century, culminating in the widespread devastation of approximately
30-50% of reefs during the 1998 El Niño.
• A large capacity of human resources and knowledge in research and
management exists in East Africa to study the effects of this devastation on reefs
and human populations dependent on them, and to formulate management
plans to deal with degradation issues.
• All East African countries are improving legislative frameworks for implementing
action. Nevertheless, more coordinated action is needed to better address the
increasing likelihood of future threats on the scale of the recent El Niño.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE CORAL REEF CONSERVATION
Three primary recommendations are highlighted in this review, arising primarily from the
massive impacts of the El Niño coral bleaching, and the regional scale of coral reef losses:
• National Monitoring Programmes: while there is improved capacity and rigour in
coral reef and resource monitoring, more rational management planning remains a
critical need. Increased standardisation of methods, data processing and archiving
are all needed across research groups and countries. Longer term commitment of
support, from local institutions to international donors, is needed to give the
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