GCRMN_COI_2017-Western Indian Ocean Reef Status

Coral reef status report for the Western Indian Ocean (2017)
Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network
1 REGIONAL CHAPTERS
1.1 Introductory sections
The Western Indian Ocean region is recognised as one of the richest areas in the world
for marine and coastal biodiversity (UNEP-Nairobi Convention/WIOMSA 2015). However,
this wealth is exposed to various threats due to human activities and changing climatic
conditions. Recognising the significant socio-economic and ecological values of coral reefs
and their associated ecosystems, countries in the region through regional cooperation
frameworks (Indian Ocean Commission, Nairobi Convention), have aligned with the
International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) to try to provide solutions to these issues,
including a regional framework for monitoring and reporting on the status of coral reefs.
Two sub-regional nodes make up this structure, created under the Global Coral Reef
Monitoring Network (GCRMN) in 1998 – the South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) islands
of the Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, France/Reunion, identified as Node
No. 3 of the GCRMN, and the mainland Eastern and Southern African countries of Kenya,
Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa, as Node 4. With the creation of the Coral Reef
Task Force (CRTF) of the Nairobi Convention in 2001 the 2 nodes were joined in a single
regional network.
Several projects have supported these coral reef networks through funding from the
European Union to the Indian Oean Commission (the IOC-EU Regional environment
program, Regional Sustainable coastal zone management (ReCoMaP) and the ISLANDS
program), IOC-GEF-World Bank coral reef Programme and AFD-FFEM Regional network of
marine protected area. Capacity building in coral reef mappings, monitoring protocols and
databases management of national teams as well as equipment were provided since 1998
to 2014. Regular national and regional reporting was conducted and contributed to global
coral reef status reports published by GCRMN.
The Indian Ocean Commission’s Biodiversity project, funded by the European Union is
aimed at strengthening national and regional capacities in the management of biodiversity
and coastal ecosystems to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of resources
(promotion of bio-sustainable applications). From 2014 to the present, it has supported
capacity building and coordination of coral reef monitoring under the CRTF/GCRMN
umbrella, and the compilation of this report.
This report presents the first compilation and quantitative assessment of data on coral reef
health by the regional monitoring networks. It is modelled after the Caribbean regional
report led by Dr. Jeremy Jackson and the IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme (GMPP)
published in 2014 (Jackson et al. 2014). It also follows the recent reorientation of the
GCRMN, to focus on regional frameworks and capacity building, as recorded in minutes
and decisions of the ICRI General Meetings in recent years (2014-2016).
The aims of this report are to:
1. update the status of coral reefs in the countries of the region;
2. reinvigorate the GCRMN coral reef networks of the region through a common reporting
process;
REGIONAL CHAPTERS
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