Coral Reefs

"Community involvement is the cornerstone of environmental protection. I support Reef Check because it helps local communities protect their own reefs through education and involvement in reef check survey." — Leonardo DiCaprio

Coral reef colonies — the so called "Rainforests of the Sea" — provide food to some 100 million people and support a billion-dollar tourism industry worldwide. The coral reefs’ mega-biodiversity consists of the world’s most biologically diverse marine system and hosts one-fourth of all marine animals for food and other uses, like materials for new medicines. Other than that, coral reefs protect thousands of miles of coastal communities from storm erosion.

Sadly, this prized possession is in crisis. Overfishing, cyanide (poison) and blast fishing, sedimentation, global warming, poor forestry practices and industrial pollution, name it and the seas have it.

About 16 percent of world’s reefs have been ruined in the last five years alone; another 27 percent is in a poor state of health. In the Philippines only 4.3 percent remains in excellent condition.

Cyanide poisoning is one of the greatest dangers in Southeast Asia.

Reef Check is one of the organizations in the world working to save what remains of the once lush coral reefs of the world. Dedicated to global coral reef education, monitoring and management, it maintains Reef Action Teams that include volunteer scuba divers and snorkelers, tourists, marine scientists and local village fisherfolk.

Led by trained marine scientists, the teams count easily identifiable organisms such as live coral reefs, groupers and lobsters that serve as global and regional indicators of reef health. The data, gathered through monitoring methods that are easy to learn produce fast surveys and results.

Information from the surveys are submitted to the Reef Check headquarters for analysis and inclusion in global coral reef status and consolidated reports.

Reef Check produces results! It conducted the first-ever global survey of coral reef in 1997. The study revealed the first shocking scientific evidence that the global coral reefs are under siege from man-induced and natural causes. An unbelievable 50 percent of reefs have missing indicator organisms that show the excellent condition of the reefs. These are fish and shellfish, grouper, humphead wrasse, bump head parrotfish, sea cucumber, banded coral shrimp and giant clam.

The following year, the Reef Check network of Reef Action Teams documented an unprecedented coral bleaching and mortality event that ruined over 10 percent of the world’s reefs, including colonies over 1000 years old. Scientists are of the belief that the phenomenon was partly caused by global warming. This shows that coral reefs are one of the most sensitive indicators of climate change.

Reef Check teams have surveyed over a thousand reef colonies and are helping to nurse them back to health. The results have been published in leading scientific journals and reported by CNN, NHK, as well as, USA Today, The Economist and major national newspapers in dozen of languages.

Through education and direct involvement, Reef Check changes people’s behavior for their own good and creates stewardship. The program helps communities monitor and manage their own coral reefs from the grassroots level.

For this fulfillment, the organization has been chosen to be the "community-based" program for the United Nations’ Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. Moreover, Reef Check provides solution to the reef crisis by bringing together government agencies, the private sector, environmental groups and local communities and empowering them to coordinate in their work for the sustainable management of the treasure for future generations.

In addition to providing crucial data to scientists and resource managers, the global teams educate the public about the value of coral reefs and the threats to them and solutions to them. Most importantly, Reef Check provides the tools and training for local communities to manage and protect their coral reefs.

The marine conservation organization is inviting members. A scuba diver or snorkeler can join one of its teams. A business firm can join dozens of companies of all sizes that have enhanced their green image by sponsoring a Reef Action Team. By being a part of a large ecological survey in the world, your team could gain international media recognition.

Interested parties/individual can get in touch with: Reef Check, 1652 Hershey Hall 149607, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1496, USA; 1-310-794-4985 (phone); 1-310-825-0758 (fax); [email protected] (e-mail); www.reefcheck.org (website)