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

Executive Summary
This report, however, includes information from the Marshall Islands and Trinidad and
Tobago, which were not included in 2000.
NEW INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES TO CONSERVE CORAL REEFS
Since the Status 2000 report, many major initiatives have started to have positive effects
on coral reef conservation. Some of these are:
• the US Coral Reef Task Force and other government bodies have provided more
funds and expertise to manage coral reefs across the globe, particularly in US
dependent and associated territories;
• Governments and others partners in ICRI have established the priority needs of
coral reefs as recognised priorities in the WSSD and in the work programs of
the multilateral environmental agreements including the Conventions on
Biological Diversity, Wetlands of International Significance (Ramsar) and World
Heritage;
• the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN), with initial funding from
the United Nations Foundation, has started strengthening reef management at
key demonstration sites in 4 of the major coral reef areas of the world;
• WWF (World Wildlife Fund), TNC (The Nature Conservancy) and CI
(Conservation International) launched a partnership of initiatives on coral reefs
in the centre of coral reef biodiversity in Southeast Asia;
• Private foundations, especially those in the USA and Australia (Great Barrier Reef
Research Foundation) are increasingly targeting coral reefs in the Western
Pacific, Southeast Asia and the USA as part of biodiversity conservation programs;
WORLD ATLAS OF CORAL REEFS
A major resource for all interested in coral reefs was published in 2001. The World
Atlas of Coral Reefs was produced by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring
Centre (UNEP-WCMC) based on 20 years of information on the world’s coral reefs.
The Atlas is invaluable to scientists, researchers, resource managers, aid and
development decision-makers, global travellers and students. It also caters to the
needs of divers and boat owners. The Atlas includes considerable information on the
natural history of coral reefs, their location, stresses and threats, and major protected
areas gathered by UNEP-WCMC and its partners around the world. The World Atlas
of Coral Reefs has: 424 pages, 302 colour illustrations as a hard-bound volume; 94 full
colour maps, including maps of biodiversity and reef stresses; regional maps showing
3D bathymetry and high resolution maps showing reefs, mangroves, population
centres, dive centres and protected areas; over 280 colour photographs of reefs,
wildlife, people and places, including 84 photographs taken by Space Shuttle astronauts;
introductory texts explaining the formation, structure and ecology of coral reefs;
details of the various uses and abuses of coral reefs by humans; techniques used in
coral reef mapping; detailed texts on the distribution and status of coral reefs in all
countries; tables on biodiversity, human use, and protected areas; and statistics on
coral reef area, biodiversity, fish consumption, and threats. The World Atlas of Coral
Reefs can be ordered from the publisher www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9635.html.
Maps and text from the atlas can be down-loaded from www.ReefBase.org
9