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PURPOSE OF PRESENTATION
The purpose of this presentation is:
• to inform you of the progress that has been made in the implementation of the CPACC Component 5 -  Monitoring Coral Reefs Climate Change Impacts, • to advise you of the current status of the institutional arrangements through which implementation is supported at  the national level
• and the status of monitoring activities in the three participating countries
•and  to suggest plans that must be put in place by the end of the CPACC Project to ensure that the necessary long term commitment to monitoring coral reefs can be sustained in the Caribbean.
THE GOAL OF THIS PRESENTATION
Is to persuade you that the CPACC Project, and Component 5 in particular,
warrants your interest, consideration and support.
The Purpose of Component 5 is to develop at the national and regional levels, the capacity to support and sustain a programme for the long term monitoring of the Caribbean coral reefs to detect, quantify, and interpret the impacts of  global climate change for the purpose of adaptation planning.
The ultimate GOAL of Component 5 is to facilitate the translation of climate change related coral reef research into adaptation policy and planning action at the national and regional levels.
The Objectives outlined in the CPACC Projecect Document define the actions that must be completed CPACC Project  life span to ensure that this goal is achieve.
1.How
2.Where
3.Who
4.How
5.Constituency
6.Capacity
A Coral animal is actually a  colony of small bag shaped organisms called polyps.
An individual polyp may be the tip of your little finger. 
The mouth of the bag is surrounded by tentacles that are used for feeding.
The base of the polyp is important because this is the area that secretes the
small, protective calcium carbonate cup into which the polyp can partially
 withdraw when threatened.
 
The polyps are connected to each other laterally forming a thin layer of tissue
over the calcium carbonate skeleton, which may eventually grow from the
size of a marble to size of an automobile.
The cells of the polyps contain single celled plants called zooxanthelae,
between 500,000 and 5,000,000 per square centimeter. The symbiotic
relationship between the host coral and the resident primary producers,
zooxanthelae, provides the corals with nutrients in quantities that
would otherwise be unviable in the nutrient poor tropical waters
of the Caribbean. This allows corals to grow more rapidly than they would be able
to if they had to absorb their nutrients from the surrounding waters,
or from digested prey. The zooxanthelae also give corals their colour.
The two important characteristics of corals to remember are that
they secrete massive calcium carbonate skeletons,
and that they contain symbiotic  single celled algae.
Corals are the architects and frame builders of the coral reef ecosystem.
Living corals provide the irregular habitat in which fish and invertebrates
can find refuge.
Skeletons of dead corals are the  building blocks of the reef structure.
These are cemented together by sand and secretions to form the ever growing
Foundation of a coral reef.
 Through as a result of sea level changes and geological process,
ancient coral reefs form what is now the land mass of many Caribbean islands,
 so substantial are the accumulations of reef material.
•
•
•Coral reefs are much more than environmental curiosities,
they are an integral part of the cultures and economies of
tropical islands and low lying coastal states of the Caribbean.
•Living coral reefs form natural, renewable breakwaters that protect coast lines from
•storm damage,erosion and flooding by reducing wave action on
tropical coastlines (Hoegh-Guldberg, (1999)
•Reefs generate the sand that forms the white sand beaches that
 are the focus of much of the regions tourism.
•directly and indirectly support the fisheries and tourism industries in tropical
countries.
•Although  a number Caribbean countries are diversifying their tourism products to
include, eco-tourism, cultural tourism, the regions tourism product is
still primarily focused on sun, sea and sand. It has been estimated
that the reefs of the Caribbean generate approximately US $90 billion
per year (Jameson et al 1995).
 and that  SCUBA diving alone will generate almost $US1 billion by the
year 2005 (US Department of State 1998).
•These natural functions and services can only be provide if coral reefs are healthy.
The optimal environmental conditions under which corals are able to function are
well defined.
•Once environmental parameters pass beyond the optimal ranges, the growth,health,
reproductive capacity, recruitment and longevity of corals are adversely effected. 
Since corals are the fundamental component of corals reefs, compromise to the
vitality of the individual coral will compromise the vitality of the coral reef.
•TEMP LIMITS: Ove Hoeg-Guldberg (1999).
•Although natural phenomena such as storms and hurricanes cause significant damage
Coral reefs, it is the activities of humans that that are threatening the survival of the
worlds reefs by forcing environmental parameters outside
of the range for their optimal range for prolonged periods of time.
•It is the biological  integrity of a coral reef system that enables it to support
and maintain a balanced, integrated, and adaptive biological system having
the full range of elements and processes expected for a region
(Jameson, S.C. et al, 2000), and hence, the ability to deliver the services and
functions described on the previous slide..
•As you can see from this map, coral reefs dominate the coastal tropical
environments of the Caribbean  and Central America between latitudes  of approximately
25 ° N and 25 ° S, where water
temperatures range between 18° and 30° Centigrade.
• You can also see that coral reefs in the region are under threat. The reefs
of the region are threatened by a  range human activities such as:
• heavy fishing pressure
•Increased sediment entering coastal waters as a result of
- de-forestation, coastal development and dredging
•Excessive nutrient loading.
•Habitat destruction
•These pressures reduce
•Growth-rate
•Calcification
•Diminish the ability to regenerate tissue following damage
Greater frequency of injury
•Reduced reproductive success
and
•Increased susceptibility to Bleaching and disease.
•
•
Added to the traditional threats,  is global climate change which will produce:
•
•SEA LEVEL RISE  of from 2 to 9 mm per year, which should not be a problem
for healthy reefs (1 cm per year).
•
•INCEASING SEA WATER TEMERATURES will exceed the thermal tolerance of
Reef building corals within the next few decades. Frequency of coral bleaching
(and hence coral mortality) will rise Rapidly, with the rate being greatest in the Caribbean.
•The condition of coral reefs will be severely compromised over the next several hundred
Years.
•INCREASED CARBON DIOXIDE CONCENTRATIONS  in the atmosphere will
Decrease calcium carbonate saturation state of sea water by 30%
ήreduced calcification rates Of corals by 14% to 30% by 2050.
•INCREASE UV IRRADIATION: can affect health and recruitment
One of the first tasks that the participants was the selection of attributes of
the coral reef system and its environment that will change in response
to global climate change impacts.
It was clear that would influence coral health and mortality, and that measures
Of changes in coral reef community structure would reflect the impact of
GCC on coral reefs, provided this could be differentiated from
natural and other Anthropogenic sources of stress.
The monitoring regime was designed and developed through a
concultatative process that was initiated at first  sub-regional workshop
 in support of Component 5 implementation was held in Belize in March 1998.
 Marine biologists, coastal resource managers, representatives of government
agencies, and of environmental non-governmental organizations discussed
 the implications of global climate change events on coral reefs and developed
 an consensus view on how best to monitor for climate change impacts.
Given the expected changes in coral reef attributes and parameters in the
coral reef environment, monitoring methods were suggested for to detect 
anticipated.
There may be a number of methods that can be used to monitor each
environmental parameter or coral reef attribute. The choice of method will be
determined by,
•The type of data required to answer the question or hypothesis.
•Frequency with which data must be collected.
•The level of confidence that one must have in the result.
•Financial resources
•Human resources
•Logistic constraints (bottom time)
•Available levels of capacity and expertise in the work force
Workshop consensus on the way forward.
•Build on and extend existing monitoring programmes.
•The CARICOMP programme was CPACC’s point of departure.
•The long term decline in the health of Caribbean reefs makes it
•is  difficult to distinguish anthropogenic from natural disturbances,
•except in instances of severe anthropogenic
•degradation (N.V.C. Polunin and I.D. Williams, 1999).
•
A monitoring area is a unifrom tract of reef that is considered to
represent one of the Three conditions, heavily impacted, mildly
impacted or pristine.
Back reef lagoon (protected by emergent reef crest)
Reef crest
Fore reef slope
Target habitat is a particular type of reef formation that makes up part or all
of the reef tract.
Three monitoring sites are selected within the target habitat to provide
representative sampling coverage.
Back verse fore reef
At each monitoring site 20 randomly distributed transects were monitored.
 
The video method :
1)Minimized the time required to collect data underwater.
2)Reduced the requirement  for data collectors to be experts in coral
identification
3)Provided a permanent record of the collected data for
•Review
•Distribution and consultation
•QA/QC
•Public Awareness
•Decision making
4) Although building on the CARICOMP method, the decision was taken
 to adopt digital video technology. The two methods used to monitor the
same reef site in Cayman,  have been shown to produce results that are
statistically indistinguishable (Woodley, Pers. Com, 1999).
1)
1) Automatic dotting process (1 hour per transect)
2)Digital technology provided a permanent record of the collected data for
•Review
•Distribution and consultation
•QA/QC
•Public Awareness
•Decision making.
2)Given the volume of information being generated data management 
and QA/QC become critical issues.
•
Analysis: 1 to 2 hours per transect.
Data recorded directly to spread sheet (reduces transcription error)
1)Goal: measure and evelaute the consiquences of GCC on coral reef systemsa
2)
2) Detect changes in measurable chacteristics that indicate the condition of the coral reef
3)Compare change with a minimally disturbed baseline condition
Studies conducted in Cayman by members of the CARICOMP team to
compare the results of data collected using the CARICOMP method and
the video method, show the two methods produce results that are not
statistically different.
A joint effort is to be undertaken by the CPACC RPIU, the Centre
 for Marine Sciences and  the Discovery Bay Marine Lab, will be
comparing the data collected using the CARICOMP method, and 
the video method being used by CPACC.
Indicators of GCC impact, simple indices that encapsulate the significance of
The events being reported, and that can be communicated to, and understood by
 decision makers.
The Centre for Marine Sciences was established as an independent research
 centre at the University of the West Indies,Mona Campus, in Jamaica in the
early 1990s.
The mission statement gives the Centre the mandate to operate at
 the national and regional levels.
The capacity that has been jointly developed by the CMS and
CPACC is a step towards ensuring that coral reef monitoring
activities can be initiated and sustained at the national level,
despite the initial shortages of the necessary human capacity
and material resources.. 
The CMS can provide technical support until a a
national government can either allocate resources,
or sees the benefit of allocating scarce resources.
This is important because project time frames and priorities
do not necessarily coincide with national time frames and
priorities, despite commitments made at higher levels. 
The CMS provides the quality control and quality assurance
necessary to ensure that data collected by different teams at
different geographic locations across the region,
 is consistent, accurate and comparable.
Provides the archiving facility to ensure the proper handling,
storage and retrieval of data (not used means abused in most cases).
The CMS will play the lead role in developing regional and national reports on the impacts of GCC to coral reefs and the implications for sustained economic development in the region. The CMS will communicate the information directly to national governments and and indirectly through national and regional climate change institution as CPACC, IMPACC and National Climate Change Committees
.
The Centre for Marine Sciences was established as an independent research
 centre at the University of the West Indies,Mona Campus, in Jamaica in the
early 1990s.
The mission statement gives the Centre the mandate to operate at
 the national and regional levels.
The capacity that has been jointly developed by the CMS and
CPACC is a step towards ensuring that coral reef monitoring
activities can be initiated and sustained at the national level,
despite the initial shortages of the necessary human capacity
and material resources.. 
The CMS can provide technical support until a a
national government can either allocate resources,
or sees the benefit of allocating scarce resources.
This is important because project time frames and priorities
do not necessarily coincide with national time frames and
priorities, despite commitments made at higher levels. 
The CMS provides the quality control and quality assurance
necessary to ensure that data collected by different teams at
different geographic locations across the region,
 is consistent, accurate and comparable.
Provides the archiving facility to ensure the proper handling,
storage and retrieval of data (not used means abused in most cases).
The CMS will play the lead role in developing regional and national reports on the impacts of GCC to coral reefs and the implications for sustained economic development in the region. The CMS will communicate the information directly to national governments and and indirectly through national and regional climate change institution as CPACC, IMPACC and National Climate Change Committees
.
Skills, technology and experiences developed during the implementation of this pilot activity will be communicated to the remaining CPACC countries during training workshops to be held in 2001. Although we will have worked out many of the implementation problems by the time we hold these workshops, there will still be a need for technical support and guidance beyond the end of the CPACC Project in December 2001.
IMPAC and the network of institutions such as the Centre for Marine Sciences, will provide the support necessary to ensure that the work started under the CPACC Project is expanded and sustained.
The manor in which we mange our coastal reserves over the next twenty years will in many ways determine the severity of the climate change impacts that we face later in the century.  Sound coastal resource management is  no longer a simply a desirable best practice. It is probably the difference between sustainable economic development and economic stagnation.
The data that is being collected under Component 5 must be used in two ways:
1.It must be used to inform policy decisions that affect current coastal resource use and allocation issues, because adaptation planning for coral reefs must begin now.
2.It must be used to notify decision makers of the development and changes in trends of climate  change related impacts.
3.
The information generated by Cmponent 5 will feed into the processes being established under some of the other CPACC Component activities e.g.
- (Component 4)  will facilitate the development of the appropriate policy and
legislative frameworks for addressing the need climate change adaptation.
-(Component 3) will  provide the tools by which information on the status of
coastal resource  can be mapped and visualized for the purpose of
Decision making and planning.
1.