GCRMN, Monitoring and Assessment
Coral reefs represent biodiversity hotspots and cumulate numerous ecosystem services. However, these unique ecosystems are facing massive degradation and decline with pessimistic trajectories, which makes them emblematic targets in conservation priorities.
To start, all conservation strategies require an accurate estimate of the state and current trends of a given ecosystem. Within this context, the first global and quantitative assessment of the state of coral reef monitoring for 30 pilot countries which collectively account for almost 90% of the world’s coral reefs is provided. Next, results from an analysis of the status of the implementation of the ICRI recommended indicators “Live Coral Cover”, “Fleshy Algae Cover and Cover of Key Benthic Groups” and “Fish Abundance and Biomass” and the progress of the 30 pilot countries towards meeting these targets are given. Finally, recommendations to help meet the targets set by ICRI and the implementation of the ICRI recommended indicators at the country level are outlined. All of these analyses were based on the data and the metadata contributed by the members of the GCRMN consortium. These data were first cumulated by the GCRMN as part of the Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2020 report.
Citation: Nina Prasil Delaval, Jérémy Wicquart, Francis Staub and Serge Planes (eds.) (2021) Status of coral reef monitoring: an assessment of methods and data at the national level. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN)/International Coral Reefs Initiative (ICRI).