WRI Publications Feed: Reefs at Risk

Influence of Coastal Economic Valuations in the Caribbean: Enabling Conditions and Lessons Learned

Sarah Parsons — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:55:24 -0500

Executive Summary

Across the Caribbean, national economies are heavily dependent on coastal ecosystem services. Coral reefs, mangroves, and other coastal ecosystems provide fish habitat, attract tourists, and protect shorelines from storm damage. However, coastal habitats continue to degrade due to local and global pressures. For example, more than 75 percent of the Caribbean’s coral reefs are currently threatened by human activities. These threats to coastal ecosystems stem from both a lack of awareness of the benefits these ecosystems provide and the costs of insufficient protection, and a lack of political will to protect and sustainably manage these ecosystems. Many of the activities that damage coastal ecosystems arise from shortsighted and poorly informed decisions that fail to take long-term ecosystem values and the full range of benefits from coastal ecosystem services into account.

Economic valuation can contribute to better informed and more holistic decision making about resource use and identify opportunities for effective conservation. Over the past 30 years, the economic valuation literature on the Caribbean’s coastal and ocean resources has increased substantially. More than 200 coastal economic valuation studies of the monetary value of marine ecosystem goods and services in the Caribbean currently exist. However, despite this wealth of valuation studies and estimates, it is not clear whether these efforts have had a meaningful impact on policy or decision making concerning the management and use of these valuable natural resources; to date, there has been no assessment to address this critical question. It is also not immediately clear why some valuations have been more influential than others.

To get a more complete picture of the influence of past coastal valuations in the Caribbean, and to identify the key “enabling conditions” for valuations to influence policy, management, or investment decisions, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Marine Ecosystem Services Partnership (MESP) conducted semi-structured interviews with more than thirty marine conservation and valuation experts. Several of these interviews took place in the five countries where WRI had conducted coastal valuations. WRI also reviewed past valuation studies in the Caribbean that informants identified as influential. The findings of this review are based on expert opinion and documented cases of influence. Given the large number of total valuations and the difficulty of tracking influence, this review is not exhaustive. This paper identifies a number of variables that likely influence policy, management, and investment outcomes; however, it does not identify the extent to which each variable contributes to influence. We encourage future research on this topic.

Overall, we found that although valuation studies have helped raise awareness about the economic importance of coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean, few have actually had a positive influence on conservation and management- oriented policy, legislation, or investment in the region. We identified only 13 valuation studies that have influenced policy. For example, valuation helped to convince the government of St. Maarten to establish the country’s first national marine park, and the government of Belize to legally ban bottom trawling. Still, these success stories highlight the potential for economic valuation to have influence. We were able to draw out key contextual, procedural, and methodological conditions that likely led to success.

The elements increasing the likelihood of policy influence included:

a clear policy question;
local demand for valuation;
strong local partnerships and stakeholder engagement;
good governance with high transparency;
opportunities for revenue-raising;
effective communications and access to decision makers and/or media; and
a clear presentation of methods, assumptions, and limitations.

This analysis suggests that getting the methodology right—a principal concern of economists—is only part of the equation. Valuation practitioners who aspire to achieve impact must also consider wider contextual and procedural factors (such as governance and stakeholder engagement) when assessing the likelihood that their valuation will be influential. Furthermore, absolute accuracy is not always essential, as many stakeholders use valuation results as a ballpark figure to guide decision making. For this reason, valuation should be done on a scale appropriate to the policy question, minimizing costs as far as possible. More precise valuation may be necessary for questions relating to fees and taxes. In all cases, clear presentation of methods, assumptions, and limitations is critical in order to address critiques and legitimize results.

In the Caribbean, interest in ecosystem valuation to inform smart choices about coastal resource conservation and management and associated land use continues to grow. However, based on the results of this analysis, it is clear that valuation practitioners need to do much more to ensure that valuation studies have greater influence. In order to achieve more meaningful impacts, greater effort is necessary to strategically choose, design, and execute valuation studies; communicate valuation results to target audiences; and share successes and failures of influence with other practitioners. We conclude with next steps for building on this analysis, including:

Conduct further consultations with experts and decision makers in the Caribbean and beyond to enlarge the catalog of valuation success stories, and explore additional opportunities for qualitative and quantitative analysis of trends and causality.
Develop standardized approaches to monitor and evaluate the influence of coastal valuations.
Research the “return on investment” of economic valuation for coastal conservation and management in relation to other conservation tools.

The results of this review will inform WRI and our partners’ efforts to produce a standardized framework for economic valuation of coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean. A standardized valuation framework would help produce comparable and credible values across the Caribbean, legitimizing their use among decision makers and increasing their uptake. Drawing from this review, the framework will also contain advice on how to make future economic valuations as influential as possible, so they can realize their potential to catalyze positive changes in policy, management, and investment—helping both to restore the productivity and increase the economic contributions of coastal resources, while safeguarding the Caribbean’s valuable coastal and marine resources for future generations.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

Sarah Parsons — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:53:54 -0400

Summary: Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

Download the 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited

The World Resources Institute produced the report in close collaboration with the USAID-funded Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP). Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle was adapted from WRI’s 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited, and supplemented with more recent and detailed data for the Coral Triangle region.

Threats to coral reefs in the Coral Triangle are much higher than the global average. More than 85 percent of reefs within the Coral Triangle Region are currently threatened by local stressors (such as overfishing, pollution, and coastal development), which is substantially higher than the global average of 60 percent. Nearly 45 percent are at high or very high threat levels. When the influence of recent thermal stress and coral bleaching is combined with these local threats, the percent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 percent, which is substantially greater than the global average of 75 percent.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle studies current and future threats to the Coral Triangle’s reefs, evaluates social and economic vulnerability to reef degradation and loss throughout the six countries, examines reef management initiatives, and identifies solutions to help safeguard reefs.

2011 Eco-Audit of the Mesoamerican Reef Countries

Maggie Barron — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:59:57 -0500

The Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) provides a diverse array of goods and services to the people of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. It is our shared heritage. Unfortunately, the health of the reef is declining, as documented by the 2008 and 2010 Report Cards published by the Healthy Reefs Initiative. The decline stems, at least in part, from inadequate management of threats to coral reefs. This Eco-Audit evaluates our efforts to protect and sustainably manage the region’s coral reefs; celebrates management success stories; and documents the extent to which recommended management actions have been implemented in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. It seeks to catalyze faster, more effective management responses and to increase accountability within the public and private sectors and among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

An Innovative, Rigorous Process

The Healthy Reefs Initiative (HRI), in collaboration with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and local partners, developed and implemented this first-ever multinational Eco-Audit of the Mesoamerican Reef Countries.

Evaluation criteria are comprehensive and inclusive.

Twenty-two standardized management indicators were developed across seven themes, such as fisheries management and coastal zone management. The Eco-Audit draws on input from a variety of NGOs, governmental agencies, and the private sector, and includes transparently verified and publicly available results. In September and October 2011, HRI and WRI convened four national workshops, whose purpose was for participants to collectively rank each indicator and to compile documents to verify the rankings.

Analysis is objective, science-based, and validated.

HRI and its regional partners are committed to maintaining audit standards that are unbiased, fact-based, transparent, and replicable. The financial and management auditing firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers Costa Rica (PwC) reviewed the methodology and provided feedback on the processes, indicators, and quality of the verification documentation.

Data quality will be enhanced over time.

This first Eco-Audit establishes a baseline regarding the status of reef ecosystem management efforts. The results are intended to guide data collection and compilation for future Eco-Audits, which will occur every two years. These biennial Eco-Audits and the biennial HRI Reef Report Cards will occur in alternating years, thereby providing a routine accounting of reef health and efforts to improve it. As data collection becomes more complete and the database grows, we anticipate that the Eco-Audit will evolve, becoming more quantitative and comprehensive in its evaluation of management efforts.

Slideshow

2011 Eco-Audit of Mesoamerica Reef Countries

View more presentations from World Resources Institute (WRI)

Coastal Capital: Jamaica

Maggie Barron — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:01:16 -0400

This analysis includes a valuation of coral reef-associated fisheries, potential losses to tourism due to beach erosion, and examines the role of coral reefs in reducing coastal flooding during storms. In addition, we provide a literature review of 16 coral reef valuations conducted in Jamaica.

Reefs at Risk Revisited

Maggie Barron — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:09:04 -0500

View a Google map of Reefs at Risk

Summary: Reefs at Risk Revisited

Under the Reefs at Risk Revisited project, WRI and its partners have developed a new, detailed assessment of the status of and threats to the world’s coral reefs. This information is intended to raise awareness about the location and severity of threats to coral reefs. These results can also catalyze opportunities for changes in policy and practice that could safeguard coral reefs and the benefits they provide to people for future generations.

View French version: Récifs Coralliens en Péril (Revisité )
View Spanish version: Arrecifes en Peligro (Reexamen)

Reefs at Risk Revisited is a high-resolution update of the original global analysis, Reefs at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Threats to the World’s Coral Reefs. Reefs at Risk Revisited uses a global map of coral reefs at 500-m resolution, which is 64 times more detailed than the 4-km resolution map used in the 1998 analysis, and benefits from improvements in many global data sets used to evaluate threats to reefs (most threat data are at 1 km resolution, which is 16 times more detailed than those used in the 1998 analysis).

Like the original Reefs at Risk, this study evaluates threats to coral reefs from a wide range of human activities. For the first time, it also includes an assessment of climate-related threats to reefs. In addition, Reefs at Risk Revisited includes a global assessment of the vulnerability of nations and territories to coral reef degradation, based on their dependence on coral reefs and their capacity to adapt.

WRI led the Reefs at Risk Revisited analysis in collaboration with a broad partnership of more than 25 research, conservation, and educational organizations. Partners have provided data, offered guidance on the analytical approach, contributed to the report, and served as critical reviewers of the maps and findings.

Selected Media

energyNOW, Saving the Rainforest of the Ocean
American Way Magazine, Reeling Reefs
NPR, World’s Coral Reefs Facing Serious Threats
The New York Times, Deeper Peril for Coral Reefs
PBS Newshour, Scientists Forecast an Altered Ocean
The Guardian, Coral reefs report warns of mass loss threat
AFP, World’s coral reefs could be gone by 2050: study
Voice of America, Report: 75 Percent of World’s Coral Reefs Threatened

Data & Resources DVD

A DVD companion to the Reefs at Risk Revisited report is available upon request. To order a copy, please email reefsatrisk@wri.org, and include a brief description of how you plan to apply the data. The DVD contains:

A comprehensive set of GIS data (raw input data and model results);
KML files (for viewing on Google Earth);
PDF of the Reefs at Risk Revisited report;
Technical notes;
A complete set of maps in jpeg format;
Summary video; and
Links to additional resources.

GIS Data Sets

Base Data: Data (ZIP archive, 150.8 Mb) | Meta Data (Excel, 17 Kb)
Global Threats: Data (ZIP archive, 97.9 Mb) | Meta Data (Excel, 15 Kb)
Local Threats: Data (ZIP archive, 206.7 Mb) | Meta Data (Excel, 15 Kb)
Local Threats (Vector Only): Data (ZIP archive, 74.0 Mb) | Meta Data (Excel, 13 Kb)

KML Files

Use these files in Google Earth and other map applications that support KML.

Fact Sheets

Global (PDF, 994 Kb)
Atlantic (PDF, 1.1 Mb)
Australia (PDF, 1.0 Mb)
Indian Ocean (PDF, 1.1 Mb)
Middle East (PDF, 1.0 Mb)
Pacific (PDF, 1.1 Mb)
Southeast Asia (PDF, 1.1 Mb)

Video

Footage starts at 1:06.

What’s Ahead for Power Plants & Industry? Using the Clean Air Act to Reduce GHGs, Building on Regional Programs

Maggie Barron — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:20:06 -0500

Executive Summary

In the absence of congressional action on climate change, all eyes are on the states and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to see how they will regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing large power plants and industrial facilities. Indeed, power plants and industrial facilities are the sources of half of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, making those plants and facilities central to any effort to reduce the country’s total emissions. This working paper explores a promising pathway for the states and EPA to make these reductions using the standards of performance under section 111 of the Clean Air Act.

EPA has announced that it will begin the process for regulating power plants and refineries under section 111. EPA has scheduled listening sessions with stakeholders and intends to issue draft performance standards for new and modified power plants by July 26, 2011, and at the same time issue to the states a draft mandatory guideline that requires states to develop plans to impose performance standards on existing power plants. The final performance standards and mandatory guidelines are expected in May 2012. The process for refineries will lag behind that for the electricity sector by about six months, with draft rules to be issued in December 2011 and final rules expected in November 2012.

Like many other requirements of the Clean Air Act (the Act), the standards of performance under section 111 are designed and implemented through a federal-state partnership. EPA lists the categories of sources and establishes performance standards for new and modified emitters within listed categories. EPA also establishes a mandatory “guideline” for states, creating a federal “floor” for regulation of existing sources that applies only if the states fail to set their own standards of performance that meet or exceed this floor. This guideline includes possible “system[s] of emission reduction” that the states may use to set standards of performance. In promulgating these plans, the states will have considerable flexibility, since the standards of performance under section 111(d) may take the form of traditional emissions rate limitations or any number of other more flexible mechanisms. The emergence of state cap-and-trade programs raises the question of whether these cap-and-trade programs could be used to meet a state’s obligations under section 111(d) of the Act.

The traditional approach to regulating power plant and industrial facilities is through performance standards that prescribe specific emissions limitations on individual sources. This approach has been used for years to control conventional pollutant emissions, and is the safest approach from a legal defensibility standpoint. Because many states have already begun regulating some existing sources using cap and trade, the traditional approach may not be the one preferred by the states or their stakeholders. Indeed, states that have already chosen to reduce emissions from power plants and industry using flexible, marketbased approaches, can be expected to develop plans calling for alternatives to the traditional source-specific performance standards. EPA under George W. Bush concluded that the Clean Air Act allows cap and trade as a demonstrated and effective form of regulation under Section 111(d), and the Obama EPA has not contested this interpretation. Until federal courts rule on this approach, however, there will be some uncertainty about its viability.

The assumption that the states and many of their stakeholders will propose cap and trade under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act has led to a number of questions around program design features, such as whether the Act allows offsets, or trading across listed categories of sources and whether the existing regional cap-and-trade program designs would be acceptable to EPA under section 111(d). Even though many of these issues are questions of first impression and therefore cannot be answered with absolute certainty, this paper explores the arguments for and against specific cap-and-trade design features in the context of section 111, including the implications for existing and planned regional cap-and-trade programs.

Findings

This working paper examines the process for establishing performance standards covering existing power plants and industrial facilities in the United States and finds:

Congress granted the EPA and the states considerable flexibility in determining how to cover existing power plants and industrial facilities under section 111 of the Clean Air Act.
After lengthy collaboration with stakeholders, twenty-three states designed and many implemented flexible, marketbased emissions-trading mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants and industrial facilities.
The discretion afforded to states under the Clean Air Act should permit them to propose a variety of policy mechanisms, including cap and trade.
The regional cap-and-trade designs present specific opportunities and challenges when reconciling the designs with section 111 of the act, including the following:
- Offsets cannot be used to meet federal minimum reductions but may be allowed above and beyond federal minimums.
- Trading between regulated categories of sources depends on the EPA’s interpretation of the act.
- Borrowing and safety valve mechanisms are problematic unless they can be designed to ensure minimum reductions within federal time frames.

Watershed Analysis for the Mesoamerican Reef

Richard Waite — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0500

En Español

Under the Watershed Management Theme of the ICRAN MAR partnership, WRI led a two-year, collaborative effort to evaluate the land-based threats posed to the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) from human alterations of the landscape.

The analysis quantifies sediment and nutrients coming from over 400 watersheds that discharge along the MAR. The analysis seeks to inform land-use planning, agricultural policy and practice, conservation priorities, and coastal threat mitigation efforts. It is the first of this scope and level of detail for the MAR region.

Specifically, the analysis evaluates the amount of sediment and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) coming from each plot of land; the amount of eroded sediment and nutrients reaching the river mouth; and the amount of sediment reaching the reef. It also provides estimates of the increases in sediment and nutrient delivery that have resulted from human activities, and predictions of future sediment and nutrient delivery in 2025 based on varying land-use scenarios.

The results provide a preliminary overview of regional patterns of sediment and nutrient runoff and delivery, and indicate how human alteration of the landscape can influence these patterns.

To ensure that the project’s results and analytical methods support concrete action, WRI has made the underlying data, analytical methods, and modeling tools publicly available, and has conducted extensive training sessions in the region. Policymakers can implement targeted analyses in smaller areas, calibrating them to local conditions.

Watershed Analysis for the Mesoamerican Reef Data CD – The CD contains all data used in the analysis, with accompanying metadata as well as all of the model results. To order the CD, please contact reefsatrisk@wri.org or lagudelo@icran.org.

En Español

Bajo el componente de Manejo de Cuencas de la Alianza ICRAN-MAR, el Instituto de los Recursos Mundiales (WRI) lideró un esfuerzo colaborativo de dos años para evaluar las amenazas sobre el Arrecife Mesoamericano (MAR) provocadas por alteraciones humanas al paisaje terrestre.

El análisis cuantifica el sedimento y los nutrientes provenientes de 400 cuencas que descargan en el MAR. El propósito de este análisis es proporcionar información para los planes ordenamiento territorial, las políticas y prácticas agrícolas, las prioridades de conservación y los esfuerzos de mitigación de amenazas costeras. Este análisis es el primero de este alcance y nivel de detalle para la región del MAR.

El análisis evalúa la cantidad de sedimento y nutrientes (nitrógeno y fósforo) que se originan en cada parcela de tierra, la cantidad de sedimento erosionado y nutrientes que drenan a la desembocadura de los ríos, así como la cantidad de sedimento que llega al arrecife. Adicionalmente, el análisis proporciona un valor estimado de los incrementos en sedimento y descarga de nutrientes que han resultado como consecuencia de actividades humanas; también entrega varias predicciones de descarga de sedimento y nutrientes para el año 2025, basadas en diferentes escenarios de uso del suelo.

Los resultados proporcionan una visión general de los patrones regionales de escorrentía y descarga de sedimentos y nutrientes, e indican cómo la alteración humana del paisaje puede influir sobre estos patrones.

Para garantizar que los resultados del proyecto y los métodos analíticos apoyen acciones concretas en la región, WRI ha dispuesto que los datos de base, los métodos analíticos y las herramientas de modelación estén disponibles al público en general, y ha efectuado extensas sesiones de entrenamiento en la región. Los encargados de desarrollar políticas pueden realizar análisis más específicos en áreas más pequeñas, calibrando estas herramientas a sus condiciones locales.

Análisis de Cuencas para el Arrecife Mesoamericano CD – contiene todos los datos utilizados en el análisis, así como los metadatos de acompañamiento y los resultados de la modelación. Para ordenar el CD, por favor contácte reefsatrisk@wri.org o lagudelo@icran.org.

Land-based Sources of Threat to Coral Reefs in the US Virgin Islands

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Alteration of the natural landscape for development, road construction, or agriculture can have adverse impacts on coral reefs through increased delivery of sediment and pollution to coastal waters. The threat associated with land clearing is higher in areas of steep relief, intense precipitation, and where soils are erosive in nature.

This study uses several spatial and statistical techniques to characterize watersheds across the USVI with regard to relative erosion rates and the threat of land-based sources of sediment and pollutant delivery to coastal waters. A simplified version of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) using slope, land-cover, precipitation, and soil characteristics is applied, as well as indicators of road density and erosivity by watershed.

Watersheds are an essential unit for analysis, since they link land areas with their point of discharge to the sea. The atlas presents a comparison of estimated watershed-based threat to coral reefs from both land cover change and road development.

Collaboration

The project was implemented by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in collaboration with many local institutions and other partners. Collaborating institutions were vital sources of information, provided guidance on the analytical approach, and offered critical review of analysis results. Groups which contributed data or provided guidance on the project include:

US National Fish and Wildlife Service

The Ocean Conservancy

International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN)

Data assembled or developed under this collaboration, including analysis results, are published on the Coastal Data CD for the U.S. Caribbean, which is available by sending an e-mail to reefsatrisk@wri.org. The data CD serves as a GIS data sampler for both the USVI and Puerto Rico, allowing users to do their own analysis of land-based sources of threat.

The atlas, Land-based Sources of Threat to Coral Reefs in the US Virgin Islands, provides a summary of some of the spatial indicators developed under the project. The atlas is available as both high-resolution PDF (for printing) and low-resolution PDF (for screen display).

Belize Coastal Threat Atlas

Richard Waite — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 09:09:53 -0400

Coastal ecosystems of Belize are threatened by both local threats (coastal development, pollution, sediments, overfishing) and broader scale threats (transboundary sediment and pollution, coral bleaching, coral disease). Pressure on the reefs will continue to grow as development increases, but better management can help reduce the threat and protect these valuable ecosystems in order to maintain their sustainable use.

The Reefs at Risk in Belize project was developed to improve access to information on coral reefs in Belize in support of better management of coastal resources.

Information available on threats to and condition of coral reefs in Belize is limited and uneven, but is improving. Several Belizean NGOs have done assessments of resources within selected marine protected areas, and have detailed information for these areas. During 2004, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Belize Audubon Society, Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute and World Wildlife Fund held a series of threat assessment and mapping workshops where coastal resource users (stakeholders) and scientists mapped known threats to coral reefs in Belize. One workshop was held for each of the four major reef systems—the Belize Barrier Reef, Glover’s Reef, Lighthouse Reef, and Turneffe Atoll.

These detailed assessments and expert mapping of threats have been complemented by an analytical approach implemented under the Reefs at Risk in Belize project. Reefs at Risk Belize is centered on the use of a geographical information system (GIS) to visualize and analyze the relationship between human activities (pressures) and coral reef health.

The project has developed a series of standardized indicators of human pressure on coral reefs from coastal development and marine-based threats and from land-based sources of sediment and pollution. The analysis of land-based threats includes a watershed-based analysis for all watersheds discharging along the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef region. This atlas provides an opportunity to compare modeled estimates of threat with those derived from expert opinion.

For new estimates of watershed-based threats to the Mesoamerican Reef, check out Watershed Analysis for the Mesoamerican Reef.

Belize Coastal Data CD

The CD version of this report contains spatial data sets reflecting physical, environmental, and socioeconomic variables for Belize; maps of threats to coral reefs in Belize developed by local stakeholders and scientists; and modeled estimates of threats to the Belize Barrier Reef and the Mesoamerican Reef. All spatial data have metadata. In addition, the CD contains technical reports on threats to the coastal environment of Belize and the Mesoamerican region.

Spatial data sets are best viewed using ESRI ArcView software or ESRI ArcGIS software.

To order a copy of this data CD, contact reefsatrisk@wri.org.

Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean

Richard Waite — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0400

Many people in coastal communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean depend on the natural resources provided by reefs for their livelihoods. Ensuring proper management of the reefs is vital for the economic and environmental health of the region, but there is a lack of quality information about the relationship between human activities and coral reef condition across the region. The Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean project was a response to this information need. The primary goal of the project was to raise awareness and improve management of coral reefs across the region through improving the knowledge base on the status of and threats to coral reefs. In collaboration with partner institutions across the region, we implemented an analysis to link human activities with reef condition. A major component of the project involved modeling (estimating) threat to coral reefs from human activities.

Key findings from this report include:

Nearly two-thirds of coral reefs in the Caribbean are threatened by human activities. Integrating threat levels from all sources considered in this analysis (coastal development, watershed-based sediment and pollution, marine based threats, and overfishing), the Reefs at Risk Threat Index identified about one-tenth of Caribbean coral reefs at very high levels of threat, one-third at high threat, one fifth at medium threat, and one-third at low threat.
An estimated one-third of Caribbean coral reefs are threatened by coastal development. This includes sewage discharge, urban runoff, construction, and tourist development.
Sediment and pollution from inland sources threaten about one-third of Caribbean coral reefs. Analysis of more than 3,000 watersheds across the region identified 20 percent of coral reefs at high threat and about 15 percent at medium threat from damage caused by increased sediment and pollution from agricultural lands and other land modification.
Marine-based threats to coral reefs are widespread across the Caribbean. Our indicator of marine-based damage and pollution identified about 15 percent of Caribbean reefs as threatened by discharge of wastewater from cruise ships, tankers and yachts, leaks or spills from oil infrastructure, and damage from ship groundings and anchors.
Overfishing threatens over 60 percent of Caribbean coral reefs. Fishing above sustainable levels affects coral reefs by altering the ecological balance of the reef. The removal of herbivorous fish, which consume algae, facilitates algal overgrowth of corals. Declines in coral cover and increases in algal cover have been observed across the region. This analysis identified about one-third of Caribbean reefs at high threat from overfishing pressure and about 30 percent at medium threat.
Diseases and rising sea temperatures threaten to damage coral reefs across the Caribbean region. Diseases have caused profound changes in Caribbean coral reefs in the past 30 years, with very few areas unscathed by disease, even reefs far removed from human influence. In addition, coral bleaching episodes-the most direct evidence of stress from global climate change on Caribbean marine biodiversity-are on the rise.
Ineffective management of protected areas further threatens Caribbean coral reefs. With the growth of tourism, fisheries, and other development in coral reef areas, marine protected areas (MPAs) are an important tool for safeguarding coral reefs. At present, over 285 MPAs have been declared across the Caribbean, but the level of protection afforded by MPAs varies considerably. The Reefs at Risk Project found only 6 percent of MPAs to be rated as effectively managed and 13 percent as having partially effective management.
The coastal communities and national economies of the Caribbean region are poised to sustain substantial economic losses if current trends in coral reef degradation continue. Coral reefs provide valuable goods and services to support local and national economies, and degradation of coral reefs can lead to significant economic losses, particularly in the coastal areas of developing countries, through loss of fishing livelihoods, malnutrition due to lack of protein, loss of tourism revenues, and increased coastal erosion. Analyses carried out by the Reefs at Risk project indicate that Caribbean coral reefs provide goods and services with an annual net economic value in 2000 estimated at between US$3.1 billion and US$4.6 billion from fisheries, dive tourism, and shoreline protection services.

Reefs at Risk Caribbean on CD

The CD version of this report includes:

Over 30 spatial data sets reflecting physical, environmental and socioeconomic variables for the Wider Caribbean;
user-friendly map viewing software (ESRI ArcReader);
Detailed country profiles for 35 Caribbean countries and territories
Full technical notes on the threat modeling method;
Technical notes on data sources and methods for the economic valuation;
Complete set of maps in high and low resolution JPEG format.

To order a copy of the CD, contact reefsatrisk@wri.org.

Downloadable GIS Data Sets

Both download options provide estimates of threat to coral reefs for the four individual threats (coastal development, marine-based threats, overfishing, and sediment and pollution from upland sources), in addition to integrated threat – the Reefs at Risk threat index.

Vector Data Sets (ZIP archive, 20.7 Mb) including data on coral reef locations, estimated threat to coral reefs from human activities, watersheds boundaries, and marine protected areas, all in ESRI ArcView shapefile format in Geographic projection.

This option five polygon data sets reflecting estimated threats from human activities; five point data sets reflecting coral reef locations by these estimated threats; a polygon data set of watershed boundaries (with associated erosion estimates); a point data set reflecting river mouths and estimated relative sediment delivery; a polygon data set reflecting country boundaries; a line data set reflecting the coastline; and a point data set reflecting cruise ship ports of call. The zip file also includes an ArcView project file (rrcar_vec.apr) which requires ESRI’s ArcView software.
GRID Data Sets (ZIP archive, 32.7 Mb) including data on coral reef locations, estimated threat to coral reefs from human activities, relative erosion rates across the landscape, and bathymetry, all in ESRI ArcView GRID format in Lambert Equal-Area Azimuthal projection.

This option five GRID data sets reflecting estimated threat to coral reefs from human activities; five GRID data sets reflecting coral reef locations classified by estimated threat; a GRID data set reflecting estimated relative erosion rates across the landscape; and a GRID reflecting Bathymetry. All GRIDs are in Lambert Equal-Area Azimuthal projection.

In addition, the zip file includes several vector shapefiles in Geographic projection – polygon watershed boundaries (with associated erosion estimates), polygon country boundaries, and a point data set reflecting river mouths and estimated relative sediment delivery. The zip file also includes an ArcView project file (rrcar_gr.apr) which requires ESRI’s ArcView software and Spatial Analyst 2.0 extension.

Online GIS

Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean data are available through two online GIS services:

ReefBase. Reefs at Risk results from the global (1998), Southeast Asia (2002) and Caribbean (2004) analyses are available from ReefBase’s online GIS. This site displays Reefs at Risk threat analysis results along with a range of other reef-related data sets and satellite images.
Caribbean Reefs at Risk. A web site focused on threats to Caribbean coral reefs has been developed through a partnership of the World Resources Institute (WRI), The University of the West Indies Caribbean Coastal Data Center (UWI-CDC), International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN), United Nations Environment Programme, Caribbean Environment Programme (UNEP-CEP), and the United States Geological Survey - National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). The site provides base data on the Caribbean basin, watersheds, and land-based threats to coral reefs, highlighting the results of the Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean analysis. The site provides mapping using online GIS, as well as data for download accompanied by metadata.