[Coral-List] Education for the Masses

[Marci Wulff]

Dear Coral List,

We have been following the "Education for the Masses" thread on this list serve with great interest.  
This topic is near and dear to us at the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP).

The CRCP recently released the "Roadmap for the Future" which sets a new 
course and priorities for the program.   In this document the program 
reinforces its commitment to education and outreach as an integral 
component of coral reef conservation.   It is indeed a priority for us 
to "educate the masses", but it does not happen with one campaign or 
overnight.

 NOAA co-chairs the US Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) which maintains an 
Education and Outreach Working Group that operates both as an outreach 
mechanism for the USCRTF and as a body through which non-USCRTF member 
organizations, academic institutions, and individuals can take part in 
the activities of the USCRTF.  There are currently over 140 members from 
state, Federal and Territory agencies as well as from academic 
institutions and non-governmental organizations. CRCP worked with 
multiple partners through this working group to create a set of clear, 
consistent messages for the International Year of the Reef (IYOR) to 
inform and engage the public to take actions in their daily lives.  This 
information can be found at www.iyorcreative.org and is for the public 
to use.  We all have the opportunity to work together to ensure that 
IYOR continues beyond 2008. 

 Two core messages are listed below:
1)  Coral reefs are valuable resources.  They provide food, recreation, 
marine habitat, coastal protection and medicines.  They sustain American 
livelihoods and economic development.
2)  The health of coral reef ecosystems is at serious risk due to a 
variety of human activities both local and global.  The three main 
threats are climate change, land based sources of pollution and 
overfishing.  Protecting and conserving coral reef ecosystems is an 
urgent issue, we can protect them if we act now.

We certainly welcome more scientists and coral experts to lend their 
voices to this effort.   If you are interested in learning more about 
our efforts or our working group please contact Maria.Barry at noaa.gov or 
Marci.Wulff at noaa.gov.

We look forward to working with you on this important and timely issue.