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

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002
damage to some reefs are being addressed. Thus the major future threats to the Great
Barrier Reef and other areas are considered to be from global climate change with rises in
sea surface temperatures and concentrations of dissolved carbon dioxide.
MONITORING AND GAPS IN REEF MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT
There is a lack of trained scientists and technicians able to monitor coral reefs in PNG,
and many that have been trained from government departments and academic
institutions have either moved to other tasks or recruited by NGOs, mining companies or
tourism operators. Thus, similar to most developing countries, there is a need to
continually train people in baseline monitoring methods such as the Reef Check and
methods recommended by the GCRMN. The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) has
a program to train students in survey techniques in association with local dive operators.
The best potential for a regular monitoring program is through dive tourism and their
capacity to visit many reefs areas, with the PNG Divers Association already playing a
significant role in monitoring and establishing marine conservation programs. The other
major opportunity for monitoring is through the major NGOs working with communities
to establish and manage marine protected areas.
Probably the most extensive long-term coral reef monitoring in the world has been run by
the Australian Institute of Marine Science’s Long-term Monitoring Program. It first
started in the early 1980s with monitoring of the COTS on the GBR, and has continued in
various incarnations to cover almost 20 years of continual assessment of benthic
organisms and reef fishes. Individual scientists at AIMS also have long-term monitoring
within research projects. There has also been a long-term water quality monitoring
programme for the GBRMPA, including nutrient concentrations that flow into reef waters
from coastal rivers. Monitoring also covers populations of seabirds, turtles, dugongs and
fisheries catch statistics. A recent innovation is a combined Australia-USA project of
remote sensing (NOAA-NESDIS) combined with real-time recording from AIMS automatic
weather stations to identify locations at risk of coral bleaching. This was particularly
valuable in providing the locations for direct observation to assess the 2002 coral
bleaching event on the GBR. The Government of Western Australia and AIMS also have
monitoring programs at Ningaloo Reef, Scott Reef and the Rowley Shoals in Western
Australia. There are however, large areas of reefs across northern Australia where there is
no monitoring and little baseline information.
LEGISLATION AND REGULATION
While there are adequate laws and legislation to conserve and manage natural resources
in PNG, most of these do not recognise traditional rights. Most are also not specific for
coral reefs and are spread across different sectors (e.g. fisheries, mining, environmental
protection), thereby leading to confusion over priority of laws and responsibility for
management. The government has minimal capacity or will to enforce laws, quotas and
regulations, with local communities often assuming the role of enforcing fisheries and
MPA regulations. A national surveillance strategy has been suggested which would
involve all sectors, but the most effective will continue to be through local communities
by expanding community based management programs.
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