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

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002
milestone conference to identify strategies on coral reef and associated ecosystems
management when strong resolve is needed to respond to the WSSD Plan of
Implementation. Then and now, the Philippines continues to be instrumental in bringing
forth strategies and actions for implementation at global and national levels.
A significant Philippines national strategy is the devolution of ecological management
responsibility to the municipality and ‘barangay’ level under the Local Government Code
passed by Congress in 1991. The case studies on Pages 127, 143, 146 and 148 illustrate
that when communities are given the responsibility for managing their own resources
with help from government and scientists, the damage to the reefs can be reversed. In
addition, the Philippine Government has been proud to declare the large Tubbataha
National Marine Park as a World Heritage Site. It is jointly managed by the Palawan
Council for Sustainable Development and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Philippines. In March 2002, as President of the Philippines, I had the wonderful
opportunity to dive at Tubbataha, which enabled me to experience the natural beauty of
Palawan. Even more rewarding is the genuine concern that the Filipinos have for
conserving and managing these reefs.
The same tourism potential can be developed in other Philippine reef areas. We must start
increasing the awareness of our people about how they can conserve and benefit from reef
resources. We expect that the recommendations and assistance from the Symposium will
greatly contribute to our efforts.
Sweden, also one of the founding countries of ICRI when it first met in 1994, has
continued as an active member since then. In 2001 and 2002, Sweden together with the
Philippines, served as Secretariat of ICRI. Sweden has also supported coral reef-related
activities in the Indian Ocean region through the CORDIO Program (Coral Reef
Degradation in the Indian Ocean; Page 363). The program was initiated when the major
coral bleaching and mortality event of 1998 struck reefs in East Africa, the Maldives, the
Seychelles, Comoros and Sri Lanka. As Prime Minister of Sweden, I am proud of the proactive
initiatives that our government has launched to assist countries with the
sustainable development of coral reefs.
We are pleased to endorse this report and hope that it will stimulate international efforts
to conserve coral reefs. We need action at all levels, from assisting local communities with
co-management agreements, to truly global initiatives like managing the trade in coral
reef products and reducing the release of greenhouse gases which apparently are linked to
coral bleaching. We need to conserve coral reefs because of their magnificent resources of
biodiversity, unparalleled beauty and enormous tourism potential, and particularly
because sustainably managed reefs can provide food and shoreline protection for hundreds
of millions of people around the world.
More power to ICRI!
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Government of the Republic of the Philippines
Goeran Persson
Prime Minister
Government of Sweden
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