Building Sustainable Coral Reef Monitoring and Management Capacity
PICRC Researchers conducting a bleaching survey to assess the reefs
Building sustainable coral reef monitoring and management capacity for the Micronesia Challenge, and beyond (2011 – 2014) and: Enhancing sustainable coral reef monitoring and management capacity for the Micronesia Challenge, and beyond (2015 – 2016), both funded by the United State National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
These programs advance the Micronesia Challenge by enhancing local coral reef management and monitoring capacity in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. MCT and its partners work with regional initiatives to build marine protected area networks and strengthen local management capacity to improve and maintain resilience of coral reef ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them. MCT funds six marine monitoring teams, and the data collected is analyzed and shared with natural resource managers. For example, the team recently synthesized standardized monitoring across the region. This effort summarizes coral-reef ecosystem condition across the jurisdictions and provides the first 'measurement' of the marine portion of the Micronesia Challenge. [Accompanying photos: e. & f. e. Caption: a researcher from the Palau International Coral Reef Center conducts marine monitoring. |
