Introduction 
Status of the world's coral reefs 
Positive signs for coral reefs 
Negative signs for coral reefs 
Status of coral reefs in the regions 
Prognosis for the future 
Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) 
  

The coral reefs of the world are at a ‘fork in the road’.

Either:

• reefs will continue to decline due to steadily increasing direct human stresses and indirect pressures of Global Climate Change; or
• there could be major improvements in coral reef health in specific areas as a result of the many conservation and management projects at international, regional, national and local levels which are arresting the declines in coral reef health; or more likely
• coral reefs will travel down ‘both roads’ with some reefs showing major improvements with increases in coral cover and fish populations and better water quality, while many others will continue to lose corals and show collapses in fish populations and declining water quality.

We now understand the major causes of coral reef decline and there have also been sufficient management successes to show the way to reduce and even eliminate most of the human pressures that degrade coral reefs. It is imperative to apply this understanding and use these successes to demonstrate to coral reef user communities and their governments that coral reef conservation pays dividends in the long run.

The Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002 report contains a mix of bad news and good news, including strong lessons about how stop reef decline. We can predict gains in coral reef health at specific sites in many regions within the coming 2 decades, provided there is sufficient political will and financial support. Many different projects are reducing the damaging human impacts and setting more coral reefs aside for protection. Unfortunately, a large proportion of the world’s reefs lie outside protected areas, and much effort will be needed to expand the small scale successes to national and regional scales. Moreover, many coral reef countries have no national coral reef management or monitoring programs, and thus may be unaware of the extent of damage to their reefs.

Coral reefs are estimated to provide US$ 375 billion per year in goods and services to the world, but the annual investment in research, monitoring and management is probably less than US$100 million (less than 0.05%). These assessments, however, do not include the future need for alternative food supplies and income for approximately 500 million people who depend partially or totally on reefs that are being damaged. Nor do they include the costs of moving whole cultures and nations if reefs cease to calcify and sea level rise destroys coral reef islands. Financial considerations alone warrant increased spending on coral reef research, monitoring and conservation to protect our ‘investment’ in these marine resources.

The rate of damage to coral reef resources is increasing, but is counteracted by an increase in conservation efforts. If these efforts succeed and countries increase their investment in conservation, we should witness large areas of the world’s reefs recovering from the direct and indirect damage from human activities within the next 10 years. But, if the threatening clouds of global climate change cause major bleaching events and reduce the capacity of reef to calcify, then many of our efforts will be negated.

STATUS OF THE WORLD’S CORAL REEFS 

There are now encouraging signs of slow to moderate recovery of the 16% of the world’s coral reefs that were severely damaged during the 1998 mass coral bleaching. New corals are settling on reefs along the coasts of Eastern Africa and the Comoros, particularly in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). There has also been strong recovery in the Maldives, the Lakshadweeps (India) and Palau where there are few direct human impacts. However, recovery in the Seychelles, Sri Lanka, the Indian mainland and some parts of Southeast Asia is slow or barely evident. There has been more recovery on unstressed and protected reefs, whereas reefs being stressed by high levels of sediment and nutrient pollution, and over-fishing remain largely bare of live corals. This recovery and optimism may be thwarted and the new coral recruits destroyed if the predicted increases in sea surface temperatures from Global Climate Change cause catastrophic bleaching similar to that in 1998.

Growing Awareness: There are more pragmatic activities at local to global scales to conserve coral reefs by minimising damaging human activities. These can be traced back to: wake-up calls from the first major bleaching event in 1983; the even more severe event in 1998; the dire predictions on the future of reefs in 1992 and 1998; and the UNCED environment summit in 1992. The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) was formed in 1994 at the Small Islands Developing States conference in Barbados, and has since developed a series of strategies for reef conservation, including launching four operational units: the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN); the International Coral Reef Information Network (ICRIN); the Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean (CORDIO) network; and the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). The GCRMN aims to gather information on the status and trends in coral reefs around the world; ICRIN is ensuring that decision-makers and the public receive authoritative briefings on reef issues; CORDIO is a regional effort in the Indian Ocean; and ICRAN aims to carry out the ICRI agenda and improve management of coral reefs around the world by demonstrating successful sites to communities and countries.

A feature of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development was the recognition that healthy environments were essential for human well being and health. Coral reefs, sustainable fisheries and ICRI were mentioned in the final government statement, and included in multilateral environmental agreements (Conventions on Biological Diversity, Wetlands of International Significance [Ramsar] and World Heritage etc.). There were several ‘Type 2’ partnerships

announced between governments, development banks, agencies and NGOs to promote coral reef conservation and management activities in the ‘field’. Australia will assist Asia-Pacific states with the management of tropical coastal fisheries, especially in the Arafura and Timor seas; USA will support the UNEP and ICRAN initiative to strengthen demonstration sites in Central America; the USA is increasing mapping and monitoring in the Pacific and Caribbean.

Many of the ICRI partner governments (USA, Sweden, France, UK, Japan and Australia) are increasing regional and national coral reef conservation efforts. Brazil, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Mozambique, and the Philippines have formed national coral reef task forces to increase their monitoring and management activities to combat coral reef decline. For example, the Indonesian Government estimates that 3 - 6% of their reefs are destroyed each year. A major program in Mesoamerica (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico) is tackling regional problems with help from the World Bank. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Conservation International (CI) have launched a partnership in the Southeast Asian centre of coral reef biodiversity.

Many communities are managing their own coral reefs to control their own damaging impacts with assistance from governments, and particularly NGOs. Communities in Comoros, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique are implementing community-based management, such that corals and fishes in managed areas are recovering. In Southeast Asia, action in a local community has resulted in Pak Deho being converted from a bomb fisher in Sulawesi, Indonesia to a member of the coral reef management committee, and the villagers in Batangas in the Philippines have controlled bomb fishing and the corals have recovered. Many Pacific Island communities, especially in Fiji and Samoa have retained some traditional management practices to conserve their natural resources. One project in Fiji won an Equator Prize at the WSSD in Johannesburg. Communities are managing their own resources in many parts of the Caribbean e.g. in Puerto Rico, St. Lucia and Mexico. In these examples, fish stocks have been monitored and shown to be increasing with larger catches in adjacent un-managed areas. The messages coming from these examples are:

• Communities must be given the appropriate information for their cultures and languages and be involved in all aspects of resource management, especially in coral reef monitoring of target fishes;
• Communities will often require assistance to develop alternative livelihoods to enable them to shift from over- and destructive exploitation of coral reef resources;
• Governments should be prepared to devolve responsibility to local authorities and NGOs, with community and religious leaders assuming responsibility;
• Long-term funding is necessary for projects, to employ community liaison officers, and to use successful projects to demonstrate to nearby communities.

Coral Bleaching and Global Climate Change: In 1998, we were uncertain whether the massive global bleaching was a one in a thousand year event (evident by the death of 1000 year old corals), or a portent of serious climate related problems in the future. Approximately 16% of the world’s coral reefs were extensively damaged during the major El Nino and La Nina climate change events of 1997-98, especially in the Indian Ocean, in Southeast and East Asia and the western Pacific, and to a lesser extent in the Caribbean and Brazil.

There was minor bleaching in 1999, but there were serious bleaching events in the Pacific centred on Fiji in 2000 and 2002, with coral death in Fiji being over 40% over large areas. There was also severe bleaching along the Great Barrier Reef in early 2002 with significant mortality. An El Nino is developing in the Pacific in late 2002 with concerns that the reefs will again suffer more bleaching. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change now states definitively that global warming is occurring and that ecosystems will be altered as a result. Climate models predict that coral reefs will experience more regular and severe bouts of coral bleaching in future. There has been no field evidence of reduced calcification and growth rates in corals under increased concentrations of CO2 in seawater, however, experiments have confirmed the potential for lower coral calcification.

Diseases and Plagues: There is a growing plague of the Crown-of-thorns Starfish (COTS) on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) of Australia, which is causing severe reductions in coral cover on affected reefs. There are also reports of large COTS populations in the northern Red Sea, Japan, Palau and Fiji. Thus, COTS will remain a chronic problem for many reefs and a devastating problem for others in the Indo-Pacific. Coral diseases caused catastrophic losses of corals in the wider Caribbean in the 1980s and 90s, stripping many reefs of their branching corals. Although many coral diseases have been reported, it was only recently that major coral diseases have been reported in the Indo-Pacific. In early 2002, an outbreak of ‘white syndrome’ killed significant patches of corals on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. There is limited evidence that the outbreaks and diseases are triggered by human changes to coral reef environments, but the nagging suspicion is that these are indirect results of human activities.

Collapses in Coral Recruitment: There are reports of major reductions in coral recruitment in many parts of the world. On Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, settlement of corals onto experimental plates has dropped from 22.8 per square metre in 1981 to 3.0 in 2001. On Guam in the western Pacific, there were an average of 49 new recruits per m² in 1979, but only 0.4 per m² in 1989 and 0.8 in 1992. After coral cover dropped from 40% to about 14% in 1998 on Scott Reef in the far eastern Indian Ocean, coral recruitment collapsed from 681 to 1136 per m² in 1996-97 to 12 to 17 per m² in 1999 and 2002. There have, however, been encouraging recruitment rates in the Maldives, with 23 to 29 recruits per m² in some areas, but about 4 in others. In Kenya and Tanzania, coral recruitment in protected areas is about 20 per m², but only 1-3 in unprotected areas.

Continuing Human Damage to Coral Reefs: All regions of the world report that human factors are behind the declining health of coral reefs. The major stresses are increased sediments and pollution by nutrients and toxic compounds, and reef damage from exploitation of fishes, invertebrates, algae, rock and sand, and constructions. The most extreme example from the 2002 Reefs at Risk analysis is that 88% of all reefs in Southeast and East Asia are under moderate to very high human pressures.

STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE REGIONS

The ‘Status 2002’ report was compiled from reports by 151 authors for more than 100 countries. There is sufficient new information to demonstrate trends in coral reef health for many countries, but insufficient new data for others with the assessments largely based on anecdotal and expert information.

Middle East: Reefs in the Red Sea remain relatively healthy with few anthropogenic threats, however, near-shore reefs in the Arabian/Persian Gulf were virtually destroyed by severe coral bleaching in 1996 and 1998, and there has been little recovery. Some offshore reefs have some healthy corals. Monitoring and management capacity is developing slowly through regional cooperation, but there are very few effective protected areas.

Eastern Africa and Indian Ocean: The reefs continue to degrade because of sediment and nutrient runoff and over-exploitation of reef resources. There are encouraging signs that governments and communities are developing sustainable practices for reef use including small ecotourism ventures, and monitoring and management capacity is increasing. Recovery from the massive coral bleaching of 1998 is encouraging in Comoros, Kenya and Tanzania, particularly in protected areas, but is slow in the Seychelles. The reefs further south were less affected in 1998, but human pressures are increasing in Madagascar and Mozambique, which just declared several large coral reef MPAs.

South Asia: The oceanic reefs of Lakshadweep, Maldives, and Chagos are showing steady recovery after the massive losses in 1998, however recovery on the mainland reefs of India and Sri Lanka is poor, because natural and human disturbances are impeding coral recruitment. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands remain healthy having escaped damage in 1998. Capacity for monitoring coral reefs continues to improve with donor assistance, however the monitoring data are largely ignored by resource managers. Most MPAs in South Asia are poorly managed and enforced, except where local communities have been encouraged to take control.

Southeast Asia and East Asia: Most reefs continue to decline under increasing human impacts, except where there has been strong community involvement in MPA design and management. Unstressed and protected reefs are recovering from losses in 1998, but there was further bleaching in Japan in 2001, with 50% mortality on some reefs. By far the most serious threats are destructive and over-fishing, followed by coastal development, increased sedimentation and pollution. Monitoring and management capacity is relatively strong but not sufficient for adequate reef assessment and conservation.

Australia and Papua New Guinea: There was coral bleaching damage to almost 60% of the Great Barrier Reef in 2002, with some inshore reefs suffering 90% coral death. However, most GBR and Western Australia reefs remain predominantly healthy due to low human pressures and effective management and monitoring. There has been a major outbreak of the Crown-of-thorns Starfish and coral disease on the GBR. There is little reef monitoring in Papua New Guinea, although most reefs remain in relatively good condition. There are increases in fishing, deforestation and coral bleaching. Reef monitoring and management capacity in government is weak, with the larger NGOs developing community-based management.

The Pacific - Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia: Coral bleaching is the major threat to Pacific coral reefs as human pressures are dispersed and the islands are surrounded by deep clean water. The only significant damage from coral bleaching in 1998 was in Palau, where the reefs are recovering well. There was serious bleaching and mortality in 2000 and 2002, especially in Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Reef monitoring capacity is expanding in Melanesia and Micronesia with support from Canada and the USA, but only the French islands in Polynesia have effective monitoring. There are good examples of community run MPAs following assistance from local and international

NGOs. Tourism and fishing are the major industries on most islands, therefore reef conservation is essential, but poor political will and ethnic disputes have impeded conservation.

Northeast (American) Pacific: Monitoring and mapping have expanded considerably in the Hawaiian Islands after a major funding boost. The Northwestern Islands are close to pristine and protected in a newly created reserve, which includes large ‘no-take’ zones. Most reefs on the main Hawaiian Islands suffer from sediment pollution, tourism pressures and over-fishing, with markedly reduced fish populations.

The US Caribbean: Activities have also been boosted with new funding, but many of the problems remain. The corals in Florida, US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are either declining or have not recovered after decades of losses. No-take reserves in Florida have larger fish populations than in fished areas, and public support for management is increasing.

Caribbean, Western Atlantic and Eastern Antilles: Coral reefs continue to decline in accessible shallow areas, although the rate of decline may have slowed. Tourism is bringing benefits but also resulting in reef decline from poor developments and anchor damage etc. Capacity for monitoring and management is generally weak and conservation usually has a lower priority than any development. Isolated reefs (Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, and Cuba) are still relatively healthy, but pressures are increasing. The reefs of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica have low coral cover and few fish. Most small islands suffer the same problems of nutrient and sediment pollution, coral disease, anchor damage, over- and destructive-fishing and tourism pressures. Many of the MPAs remain as ‘paper parks’, but there are some outstanding examples of self funding MPAs.

Central and Southern Tropical America: The coral reefs appear to be stabilising following considerable damage from coral bleaching, hurricanes and human stresses from the 1980s to 1990s. For example up to 75% corals have been lost in large parts of Belize. Live coral cover is low throughout the region and many reefs are dominated by algae. There are increased fishing pressures and sediments and nutrients flowing onto the reefs because of poor land-use practices and unregulated coastal development. Capacity and activities in monitoring and MPA management are increasing through regional cooperation and Brazil has started monitoring programs. Funding is unevenly distributed in the region.

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002 - the 3rd global report in 2002 contains more authoritative reports from many countries, however, there is still much anecdotal information and expert assessments. There is improved monitoring in the Indian Ocean and South Asia through UK and Global Environment Facility assistance, and especially via the Swedish initiated CORDIO project. Monitoring has been boosted in the Pacific through USA and Canadian assistance, and similarly in the Caribbean with GEF and World Bank assistance, with the UNEP offices playing a catalysing role. Monitoring in Australia is the benchmark for broad-scale monitoring while Florida has the most intensively monitored reefs in the world.

The GCRMN is an operational unit of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) with the goals of:

• providing data and information on the status of the coral reefs around the world; and
• raising awareness in all stakeholders on the status of reefs and the need for urgent action.

The GCRMN is a global network of people, governments, institutes and NGOs in over 80 countries, including existing monitoring networks like Reef Check, CORDIO, CARICOMP and AGRRA and planned monitoring activities. All data are freely available over the Internet through ReefBase. The GCRMN seeks to encourage and coordinate ecological and socio-economic monitoring at three overlapping levels of monitoring:

• Community - monitoring by communities, fishers, schools, colleges, tourist operators and tourists over broad areas with less detail, to provide information on the reef status and causes of damage using Reef Check methodology and approaches.
• Management - monitoring by government personnel in environment or fisheries departments, and universities for moderate coverage of reefs and communities at higher resolution and detail using methods developed in Southeast Asia or comparable methods.
• Research - high resolution monitoring over small scales by scientists and institutes currently monitoring for research.

IOC-UNESCO – Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO;
UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme;
IUCN – The World Conservation Union;
The World Bank;
ABD – Convention on Biological Diversity;
AIMS – Australian Institute of Marine Science;
WorldFish Center;
ICRI Secretariat.

The major supporters are U.S. Department of State and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration; Australia, Sweden, UK, Japan and France.

The GCRMN functions as a network of independent Regional Nodes that coordinate training, monitoring and databases within participating countries and institutes in regions based on the UNEP Regional Seas Programme: