#Status of Coral Reefs 2002 - International Coral Reef Action Network

Status of Coral Reefs in South Asia
• Stakeholders at all levels need to be involved in management and policy
decision making.
• There is a need to build confidence between the stakeholder organisations
within South Asia, particularly between government and NGOs.
• Linkages between Indian and Sri Lankan researchers and managers in the Gulf
of Mannar need to be explored and developed.
• National level policy, management and enforcement needs to be stable and
applied, if progress is to be made towards a sustainable future.
• Reef fisheries require improved evaluation and viable alternative and
sustainable livelihoods should be identified and developed for communities
dependent on threatened reef resources;
• The capacity to develop and implement regulations relating to resource
extraction should be strengthened.
Bangladesh
• There is a need to develop and implement government directed conservation,
management and protection programs to conserve St. Martin’s Island, with
ecological, socio-economic and user monitoring programs included.
Chagos
• The Conservation Management Plan needs to be completed and current
conservation enforced and, where applicable, strengthened. Designation as a
World Heritage Site would be an advantage.
India
• There is a need for central government recognition of the essential economic
and social values of each coral reef area, then integrated action between
government departments, institutions and local groups to implement
Management Action Plans;
• Networks of coral reef information providers within India should be developed
and strengthened, including the ICRMN, to provide information, analysis,
coordination and coherence for policy and programs to conserve coral reef
resources;
• Capacity in coral reef ecological and socioeconomic assessment should be
strengthened, to include involvement of reef dependent communities as the
basis for raising awareness and influencing change in the behaviour of
stakeholders who affect and are affected by coral reefs;
• There is a need to provide training and awareness across India on concepts of
conservation and sustainable use of coral reef resources.
Maldives
• More training is required in marine resource conservation, management and
assessment;
• Collaboration between government research groups, policy formulators, local
communities, NGOs and international organisations is required;
• The role of the tourist industry in reef conservation needs to be recognised and
it needs to be urged to collect and use coral reef monitoring information;
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