[Coral-List] NOAA and NFWF Award $3.5 million for coral reef conservation

Roger B. Griffis Roger.B.Griffis at noaa.gov
Tue Oct 2 13:19:24 EDT 2007


* FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

Contacts: Ben Sherman, NOAA, 301-713-3066
John Butler, NFWF, 202-857-0166

NOAA AND NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION AWARD $3.5 MILLION
FOR CORAL REEF CONSERVATION

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NOAA’s Coral Reef 
Conservation Program announced today the funding of 29 grants totaling 
more than $3.5 million through the jointly managed Coral Reef 
Conservation Fund (Coral Fund). The grants will go to conservation 
organizations and local governments in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, 
Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea to help prevent further negative 
impacts to coral reefs by educating local communities and improving 
management effectiveness.

“Healthy coral reefs provide the United States and thousands of 
communities around the world with food, jobs, shoreline protection, 
recreation and income worth billions of dollars each year. However, many 
reefs are now seriously degraded,” said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad 
C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Ph.D., under secretary of commerce and NOAA 
administrator. “These grants will help communities from the Caribbean to 
Micronesia protect and restore valuable coral reefs and the economies 
that depend on them.”

Coral Fund projects build public-private partnerships, increase 
community awareness and provide solutions to localized threats to coral 
reefs and associated habitats. Special emphasis is placed on projects 
demonstrating a hands-on, measurable approach to reducing land-based 
pollution, improving the management of coral reef protected areas or 
installing mooring buoys to protect reefs from anchor damage.

The 29 grants were awarded to projects in 11 countries, two U.S. 
territories, and three U.S. freely associated states. The awards include 
$1.3 million in federal funds leveraged by an additional $2.2 million in 
matching contributions for a total of $3.5 million in on-the-ground 
projects. Additional funding partners include the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Harold K.L. 
Castle Foundation, targeting coral conservation in Hawaii.

“We’re pleased to support projects that address coral reef conservation 
across the globe for a seventh year,” said National Fish and Wildlife 
Foundation executive director Jeff Trandahl. “These grants are designed 
to identify and address the greatest threats to these very important and 
fragile marine habitats, and develop measurable conservation outcomes in 
order to track their performance. In addition, several projects will be 
supporting activities for the International Year of the Reef 2008 to 
raise awareness of the many threats facing coral reefs.”

The Coral Reef Conservation Fund was created to assist NOAA in 
implementing the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, and is managed by 
the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in partnership with the NOAA 
Coral Reef Conservation Program. To date, the foundation has awarded 
more than $19 million in federal and non-federal matching funds for 194 
coral conservation projects in 35 countries.

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members 
of the academic, scientific, and business communities to assist the 
agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in 
order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect 
life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific 
information. NOAA’s goals and programs reflect a commitment to these 
basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 
35 years.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the 
U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and 
service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast 
in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and 
the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's 
scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety 
through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related 
events and information service delivery for transportation, and by 
providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine 
resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of 
Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 
countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring 
network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and 
protects.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a nonprofit organization 
established by Congress in 1984 and dedicated to the conservation of 
fish, wildlife and plants, and the habitat on which they depend. The 
Foundation creates partnerships between the public and private sectors 
to strategically invest in conservation and the sustainable use of 
natural resources. The Foundation has provided funding to over 9,500 
projects, leveraging $400 million in federal dollars to more than $1.3 
billion in total funding for on-the-ground conservation.

On the Web:

NOAA – http://www.noaa.gov

NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program – http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov

Coral Reef Conservation Fund - http://www.nfwf.org/programs/coral.cfm

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation – http://www.nfwf.org/coralreef


*2007 Coral Fund grant recipients:*

* *

*/National Projects:/*

*/ /*

*Strategic Communications Encouraging Coral Conservation*, /SeaWeb/

Project activities will target media coverage in all U.S. states and 
territories, as well as international outlets.

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $65,000

*/ /*

*Communicate Science of International Coral Meeting (ICRS)*, /SeaWeb///

Symposium located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Project activities will target 
media coverage in all U.S. states/ territories.

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $60,000

*/ /*

*Year of the Reef National Television Public Service Annoucements*, 
/UrbanArts Institute at Mass College of Art /

San Juan, Puerto Rico; New York, NY; Washington, DC; Los Angeles, CA; 
San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Honolulu, HI

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $40,000

*/ /*

*Expand and Maintain a Reef Saving Mooring Buoy System*, /Broward// 
County// Environmental Protection Department///

Offshore Broward County, Florida

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $30,000

*Reef Fish Protection Research in Dry Tortugas, FL, /U.S.// Geological 
Survey*/*

Federal submerged lands in and adjacent to the U.S. Virgin Islands and 
Dry Tortugas Island, Florida.

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $ 100,000__

*/ /*

*Online Outreach and Social Networking Tools for the International Year 
of the Reef*, /Care2*/

United States, Nationwide__

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $30,000

*/ /*

*International Year of the Reef 2008 Collaboration*, /Reef Check*/

National

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $30,000

*/ /*

*Papahanaumokuakea** Marine National Monument** Imagery, Reef Fest, Race 
to the Reef, */NFWF*/

Northwest Hawaiian Islands, Southern Florida, and the Caribbean

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $60,000

*/Pacific Projects/*:

*Maunalua** Bay Community-Based Education and Enforcement*, /Community 
Links Hawaii - Malama Hawaii/

Maunalua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $32,000

*Developing Tools for Assessing the Health of Reef Corals*, /Hawaii 
Institute of Marine Biology, Univ. of Hawaii///

Kanoehe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $70,000

*Cleaning Waikoko Stream Discharge to Hanalei Coral Reefs*, 
/University// of Hawaii/

Waikoko ahupua'a abuts Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $73,827

* *

*Hawaii** Coral Reef Conservation Through Community Involvement*, 
/Community Conservation Network///

Community marine areas near Haena, Pupukea-Waimea, Honaunau, Hookena, 
and Milolii, Hawaii.

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $75,000

*Testing Sustainable Marine Tourism Standards on Maui*, /Coral Reef 
Alliance/**

Coral Reef Areas near Maui, Hawaii

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $50,000

*Assessing Biological Effectiveness of Palau's Marine Protected Areas*, 
/Palau// International Coral Reef Center///

Four Coastal Marine Protected Areas, The Republic of Palau

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $41,330

*Pride Campaigns for Coral Conservation in Yap and Chuuk*, /Rare///

Yap and Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $100,000

* *

*Pride Campaign for Coral Conservation in the Commonwealth of Northern 
Marianas Islands*, /Rare*/

Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands in the Western Pacific

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $19,000__

*Educating Fishermen on Benefits of Marine Protected Areas, Malaysia*, 
/World Wildlife Fund/

Tun Mustapha Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $75,000

*Enhanced Coral Reef Conservation Management in Vanuatu, */Nguna-Pele 
Marine Protected Area (MPA)///

Marine Protected area near the Nguna and Pele islands, the Republic of 
Vanuatu

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $25,568

*Enforcement and Education Outreach program in Malaysia*, /Reef Guardian 
Sdn. Bhd./

The Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area, Sabah, Malaysia

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $41,000

*Strengthening Enforcement in Verde Passage, Philippines*, /Conservation 
International Foundation///

Verde Passage, Philippines/__/

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $59,612

*Enforcement Chain in the Eastern Tropical Seascape*, /Conservation 
International*/

Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and 
Ecuador__

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $40,000

*Bio-fuel for Reef Management in the Pacific,* /Community Conservation 
Network//*/

Helen Reef Atoll in the Republic of Palau

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $10,000__

*Coral Reef Conservation in Pacific Island Nations*, /Reef and 
Rainforest Research Centre Limited*/

Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, South Pacific region and the Caribbean

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $140,000__

*Guam Education and Outreach Campaign for International Year of the 
Reefs 2008*, /NMFS/PIRO/HCD – Guam Office*/

United States, Nationwide

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $50,000__

*/Caribbean/**// Mesoamerican Projects:/*

*/ /*

*Protection of the Bastimentos National Marine Park in Panama, */The 
Nature Conservancy Panama Program///

Bastimentos National Marine Park, Panama__

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $65,000

* *

*Bahamian Nassau Grouper Research and Public Education*, /Bahamas// Reef 
Environment Educational Foundation /

Nassau, Bahamas, and throughout the Bahamian Archipelago

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $40,000*//*

* *

*Marine Conservation Training for Journalists in Belize*, 
/International// Center// for Journalists/

Belize

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $30,750

*/ /*

*Reducing Boat Wastewater Discharges onto Coral Reefs, */Oceanic 
Resources Foundation/**

Small Island Developing States, Caribbean**

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $24,435

*/ /*

*Economic Incentives for Caribbean and Pacific Marine Protected Areas*, 
/Conservation International*/

Caribbean and Pacific MPAs

Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $17,360*//*

*/ /*

/* Projects marked with an asterisk have been funded through the Special 
Topics in Coral Conservation partnership between NOAA and the National 
Fish and Wildlife Foundation./

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