*EPF212 12/07/2004
U.S. Officials Participate in Release of Coral Reef Report
(240 experts in 98 countries describe the health of global reefs) (750)

By Cheryl Pellerin
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- A biannual survey of the health of the world's coral reefs identifies reefs that are recovering and degrading, details sources of threats to corals and solutions for halting and reversing their decline. U.S. officials participated in the release December 6 at a press briefing at the headquarters of the World Wildlife Fund.

"Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2004" is the work of 240 experts in 98 countries and is edited by Clive Wilkinson, coordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) http://www.gcrmn.org/

The 2004 report estimates that 20 percent of the world's coral reefs have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate prospects of recovery. But nearly half of the 16 percent of the world's reefs that were seriously damaged in 1998 during massive El Nino and La Nina climate changes have recovered or are recovering, the report says.

Coral reefs around the world continue to decline from increasing human pressures, it says. Poor land management practices cause the release of sediment, excess nutrients and other pollutants that stress reefs.

Overfishing and destructive fishing threaten the normal function of coral reef ecosystems, reduce populations of key reef organisms, lower coral reef productivity, and, along with pollution, shift the advantage toward macro-algae, which smother corals, by removing grazing pressure.

"It is hard to believe that 10 years ago there was no report, assessment or document that described the status of coral reefs around the globe," said John Turner, assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs.

"It wasn't until core governments and key stakeholders came together and formed the International Coral Reef Initiative in 1994," Turner added, "and put the health of coral reefs on the international agenda that we realized the critical need for such data."

The GCRMN is a global network of people, governments, institutes and nongovernmental organizations that monitor coral reefs and their user communities in 98 countries. The network also publishes results of its activities for decision-makers and the public. The network receives funding from the U.S. State Department, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the World Bank, and the World Wildlife Foundation.

Corals, singly called polyps, are tiny animals that stay fixed in one place. They feed by reaching out with tentacles to catch small fish and plankton. They secrete a hard calcium carbonate skeleton that forms a base for the colony, and the skeletons build up coral reefs over time.

Different species of coral build structures of different sizes and shapes (brain corals, fan corals), creating diversity and complexity in the coral reef ecosystem. Coral reefs provide habitats for many organisms that rely on corals for food and shelter. Reef building corals require tropical or subtropical temperatures and exist globally in a band 30 degrees north to 30 degrees south of the equator.

Coral reefs and their communities of sea grasses, mangroves and mudflats are sensitive indicators of water quality and the ecosystem's ecological integrity. They tolerate relatively narrow ranges of temperature, salinity, water clarity and other chemical and water quality characteristics.

"The ability to monitor and assess both the condition of the resources, and the effectiveness of management actions through time is critical to effective management of ocean and coastal resources," said Conrad Lautenbacher, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"To design and implement effective measures to conserve coral reefs or other ocean resources," he added, "managers need to know how the resources are changing over time and space, and if their management actions are having the desired effects."

According to the report, coral bleaching in 1998 was a one-in-1000-year event in many regions that had no past history of such damage in official government records or in the memories of traditional cultures of the affected coral-reef countries. Increasing sea surface temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations provide clear evidence of global climate change in the tropics, the report says, and extreme events such as those in 1998 are predicted to become more common over the next 50 years.

A major advance in the protection of the Great Barrier Reef occurred since the last report, with increases in the amount of no-take areas from 5 percent to 33 percent after a careful analysis using the best available science and extensive consultation with major stakeholders, the report says.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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