ListServe Launched for Neth. Antilles Coral Reef Initiative

[Alexander Stone]

NACRI_2000 Discussion Forum ListServe Launched
for Netherlands Antilles Coral Reef Initiative

	 CURACAO - A Netherlands Antilles Coral Reef Initiative (NACRI_2000
Forum) listserve has just been established by coral reef conservation
organizations Reef Care Curacao, based in the Netherlands Antilles, and
ReefKeeper International, based in Florida.  The purpose of the
NACRI_2000 Forum is to promote discussion and public awareness about
establishing a country-level Netherlands Antilles Coral Reef Initiative
in the year 2000.  Subscriptions to this announcements and discussion
listserve are free by sending a blank email message to
NACRI_2000-subscribe at listbot.com.

	"ReefKeeper International and Reef Care Curacao have joined forces to
work for the establishment of a national Coral Reef Initiative to
protect the fragile coral reefs in the Netherlands Antilles," states
Alexander Stone, Director of ReefKeeper International.  "The NACRI_2000
Forum listserve will be a valuable tool to keep people informed of the
process, bolster support, and have productive dialogues."

	The goal of NACRI is to effectively coordinate interagency
decision-making and monitoring affecting water quality, coastal
development and other habitat issues in coral reef areas throughout the
country.  The proposed NACRI would be modeled after international
efforts to assess and monitor coral reefs, develop precautionary
management measures, and broaden public awareness to generate support
for needed management measures.

	Coral reefs are found off all five main islands in the Netherlands
Antilles.  In fact, all five islands boast marine parks that encompass a
significant fraction of those coral reefs.  But recent events, including
major groundings by freighters and cruise ships in the last three years,
coastal development and dredging, and wastewater pollution, highlight
the need for country-wide government coordination and protection of
these coral reefs.  

	"Now is the time to begin implementation of an integrated management
system that protects all of the coral reefs of the Netherlands
Antilles," says Mr. Menno van der Velde, President of Reef Care
Curacao.  "A government-sanctioned Coral Reef Initiative will be a
valuable step towards that protection.  We urge people to become
involved in the discussions regarding this through the NACRI_2000 Forum
listserve."

	To subscribe at no cost to the NACRI_2000 Forum, send a blank email
message to NACRI_2000-subscribe at listbot.com.  Further information on the
Netherlands Antilles Coral Reef Initiative can be obtained by contacting
Reef Care Curacao at Post Office Box 676, Curacao, Neth. Ant., telephone
599-9-736-8120, or e-mail reefcare at cura.net.