Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

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Sponsoring Organisations, Coral Reef Programs and Monitoring NetworksRAMSAR - CONVENTION ON WETLANDSThe Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, was signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971 and broadly defines ‘wetlands’ toinclude all ‘areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres’ (Article 1.1). Inthe designation of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites) it also explicitly allows the inclusionof ‘coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six metres at lowtide lying within the wetlands’ (Article 2.1). Coral reefs are recognised as a category of marine and coastalwetlands in the Ramsar Wetlands classification. Specific guidance on the identification and designation ofcoral reefs is provided in Ramsar Wise Use Handbook 14, 3rd edition 2007 (available on: www.ramsar.org/lib/lib_handbooks2006_e.htm). There are 63 designated Ramsar sites that include coral reefs, including importantsites in Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, France (overseas territories), Guinea, Honduras,Islamic Republic of Iran, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, The Netherlands (overseasterritories), United Kingdom (overseas territories) and Venezuela, but many important coral reefs have yet to bedesignated as Ramsar sites, and a priority for further designation of coral reef Ramsar sites has been recognisedby the Convention’s Contracting Parties. Contact: Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General, Ramsar Secretariat,Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland; davidson@ramsar.org; www.ramsar.org/types_coral.htm;information on coral reef Ramsar sites at Ramsar Sites Information Service; www.wetlands.org/rsis/.REEF CHECK FOUNDATIONThe Reef Check Foundation is dedicated to research, education and conservation with respect to two ecosystems:tropical coral reefs; and California rocky reefs. With headquarters in Los Angeles and volunteer teams in morethan 90 countries and territories, Reef Check works to create partnerships among community volunteers,government agencies, businesses, universities and other non-profits. Reef Check maintains 4 major initiatives:to educate the public about the value of reef ecosystems and the current crisis affecting marine life; to createa global network of volunteer teams trained in Reef Check’s scientific methods who regularly monitor andreport on reef health; to facilitate collaborations that produce ecologically sound and economically sustainablesolutions; and to stimulate local community action to protect remaining pristine reefs and rehabilitate damagedreefs worldwide. Contact: Gregor Hodgson or Cori Kane, PO Box 8533, Calabasas, CA 91372; rcinfo@reefcheck.org; www.ReefCheck.orgRRRC - REEF AND RAINFOREST RESEARCH CENTRE.The Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited (RRRC) was established in 2006 to implement the AustralianGovernment’s Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF) in North Queensland. As the successorentity to the CRC Reef (Cooperative Research Centre) and the CRC Rainforest, the RRRC builds upon theknowledge base developed through the CRC to ensure that targeted, focused research is delivered to appropriateend-users and management agencies. The RRRC manages scientific projects that comprehensively addressissues of concern for the sustainable use, management and protection of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and itscatchments as well as the issued for the rainforests of the Wet Tropics, through the generation and transfer ofworld-class research and the sharing of knowledge. Great Barrier Reef research conducted through the RRRCincludes studies into the impacts of climate change and destructive pest outbreaks on the coral reef systems, theecological and socio-economic effects of the marine protected areas in the GBR, coastal zone risk and threatsand advances in sustainable use of the GBR. Contact: Sheriden Morris, Sheriden.morris@rrrc.org.au; www.rrrc.org.auUNEP - UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMMEThe mission of UNEP is to provide leadership and encourage partnerships in caring for the environment byinspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromisingthat of future generations. UNEP makes a particular effort to nurture frameworks and initiatives at the local,national, regional and global level which enhance the participation of governments and civil society - the privatesector, scientific community, NGOs and youth - in working together towards sustainable utilisation of naturalresources. The challenge before UNEP is to implement an environmental agenda that is integrated strategicallywith the goals of economic development and social well-being; an agenda for sustainable development. Contact:UNEP, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya; info@unep.org; www.unep.org141
Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs after Bleaching and Hurricanes in 2005UNEP - CORAL REEF UNIT (CRU)The CRU is the focal point within UNEP and the UN system to guide and mobilize policies and actions tosupport the conservation and sustainable use of coral reefs to safeguard their biological and biodiversityfunctions, which provide goods and services for the benefit of people and the sustainable development ofdependant communities. Co-located with other coral reef resources at UNEP-WCMC, the CRU works closelywith UNEP divisions/programs and international partners such as the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)and Operational Networks. CRU activities include: supporting international collaboration to reverse coral reefdegradation; cooperating to promote the political understanding of the importance of coral reefs; reviewing andintegrating information on international policies related to coral reefs; and promoting innovative partnershipsto address new and emerging coral reef issues, such as cold-water coral reefs. Contact: Stefan Hain, UNEP CoralReef Unit, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0DL, UK; stefan.hain@unep-wcmc.org.UNEP – REGIONAL COORDINATING UNIT FOR THE CARIBBEAN ENVIRONMENTPROGRAMME (UNEP-CEP)The Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) of UNEP helps nations protect the marine environment andpromotes sustainable development in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR). CEP is managed by and for thecountries of the region under a legal framework they created in 1983, known as the Convention for the Protectionand Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention) whichis supported by three Protocols, on: biodiversity (SPAW); land-based sources of pollution (LBS); and oil spillsresponse. The CEP works as a facilitator, educator, and catalyst to co-ordinate activities and build the capacityof all member governments to manage their coastal environments and build sustainable and coastal economies.The 28 member States and 8 Territories that created the CEP, encircle the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.Contact: Nelson Andrade Colmenares, Coordinator, 14 – 20 Port Royal Street, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies;rcu@cep.unep.org; www.cep.unep.org.UNEP - WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTREUNEP-WCMC is the biodiversity assessment centre of UNEP with a major coral reef focus. This includes criticalmarine and coastal ecosystem mapping, a global database on marine protected areas, and the global distributionof threats, including coral disease. Reef associated ecosystems have been a major focus since the first Statusof Coral Reefs of the World: 1998 report. UNEP-WCMC has published the World Atlases of Coral Reefs andSeagrasses, and work is underway to revise mangrove data into a new global atlas for publication in 2008.Future work at UNEP-WCMC will focus on a better understanding the value of ecosystem good and services,especially coral reefs and associated ecosystems, in marine protected areas; and the importance of ecosystembiodiversity to people. Contact: Kristian Teleki, One Ocean Programme, UNEP-World Conservation MonitoringCentre, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0DL, UK; oneocean@unep-wcmc.org or www.unep-wcmc.org.UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE CENTREThe UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), based in Paris, was established to assure the Secretariat of the1972 Convention concerning the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World HeritageConvention). The activities include assisting member states prepare World Heritage nominations, followingthe state of conservation of inscribed properties as well as providing financial or technical support from theWorld Heritage Fund or from extra-budgetary sources for the conservation of the sites. The WHC is workingtowards a more integrated approach towards marine World Heritage sites, and the recently established MarineProgramme aims: to increase awareness of the Convention as a legal tool for achieving conservation of marineand coastal ecosystems; to contribute to improving the state of conservation of existing marine World Heritagesites; to promote nominations of marine properties including serial and transboundary sites; and to establishpartnerships to build a network of support for marine World Heritage. Contact: Marc Patry, UNESCO WorldHeritage Centre, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 Sp, France; m. patry @unesco.orgUSCRTF - UNITED STATES CORAL REEF TASK FORCEThe USCRTF was established by Presidential Executive Order in 1998 to lead U.S. efforts to preserve andprotect coral reef ecosystems. The USCRTF, co-chaired by the Departments of Commerce and the Interior,142
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Hurricanes and their Effect on Cora
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4. Th e 2005 Bl e a c h i n g Ev e
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The 2005 Bleaching Event: Coral-Lis
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Coral Reefs of the U.S. Caribbean19
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Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

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