[Coral-List] Coral Reefs and Climate Workshop Proceedings Available

[Lindsey C Williams]

Coral Reefs and Climate Workshop Proceedings Available

Proceedings from the June 18 - 20, 2003 Coral Reefs, Climate and Coral
Bleaching workshop are now available on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force
website (www.coralreef.gov/proceedings/Workproc/index.htm).

At its 8th meeting in October 2002, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force
(USCRTF) passed two resolutions highlighting the impacts of climate and
coral bleaching on coral reefs.  The first resolution on “Coral Reefs
and Climate Change” called for an interagency, public/private
partnership to advance understanding and management of this issue.  A
second resolution identified climate change and coral bleaching as one
of six priority threats to U.S. reefs and encouraged development of
three-year local action strategies by State/Territory and Federal
partners to address the problem.

In response to these resolutions, the Department of Commerce (NOAA),
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Department of the Interior
(DOI) organized a stakeholder workshop to explore collaborative
approaches to better understand and address threats to coral reefs
associated with climate, with special emphasis on coral bleaching.

Participants included over 100 scientists and managers from U.S.
federal, State and Territorial government, NGOs, academia, and
international agencies currently active in understanding and managing
coral reefs in a changing climate. The three-day workshop addressed the
latest science on climate change and coral bleaching, reviewed current
efforts to develop management strategies in the context of coral
bleaching, and discussed ways to better integrate science and management
information to address the challenges posed by a changing climate.

Visit www.coralreef.gov/proceedings/Workproc/index.htm to view the
Proceedings. Please contact Felipe Arzayus with any questions
(Felipe.Arzayus at noaa.gov).