NOAA, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Award $2.2 Million for Coral Reef Conservation
January 7, 2009
Reef scene with sea rods.
High resolution (Credit: NOAA)
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program announced today the funding of 15 grants totaling more than $2.2 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.
The grants were awarded to projects in Hawaii, three U.S. territories, two Pacific Freely Associated States and seven countries. The awards include $750,000 in federal funds leveraged by an additional $1.5 million in matching contributions for a total of $2.2 million in on-the-ground projects. Additional funding partners include the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation for coral conservation initiatives in Hawaii.
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.
“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 William J. Brennan, Ph.D. acting under secretary of commerce and NOAA administrator. “NOAA is very pleased to continue to partner with the Foundation and others through the Coral Fund, which helps communities from the U.S. Caribbean to Micronesia protect and restore valuable coral reefs and the economies that depend on them.”
Damsel fish and coral.
+ High Resolution (Credit NOAA)
“We’re happy to support the eighth year of projects that help conserve coral reefs across the globe,” said National Fish and Wildlife Foundation executive director Jeff Trandahl. “These grants allow managers to identify and address the greatest threats to these important and fragile marine ecosystems and develop measureable conservation outcomes in order to track progress.”
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 nearly $9 million in federal and non-federal funds and leveraged over $13 million in matching funds for 213 coral conservation projects in 35 countries.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
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.
2008 Coral Fund grant recipients
Pacific Projects:
Molokai Community-Based Invasive Species Control, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
Molokai Island, Hawaii
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $69,010
Formalizing Community-Based Management in Hawaii, Community Conservation Network
Kauai, Oahu, and Hawaii Islands, Hawaii
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $62,000
Marine Protected Area Development in Pohnpei, The University of Guam
Kehpara Marine Sanctuary, Kitti Municipality, andPalikir Pass, Micronesia
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $45,480
Building a Marine Protected Area Network in Aceh, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Weh and Aceh Islands, Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $57,350
Community-Based Enforcement of Reefs in Micronesia, The Community Conservation Network
Ngulu Atoll, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $104,620
Research on Herbivorous Fish Catches in Micronesia, University of Exeter
Palau, Guam, and Pohnpei, Micronesia
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $85,407
Community-Based Coral Farming in American Samoa, The Coalition of Reef Lovers - American Samoa Branch
Nu'uuli and Alofau lagoons, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $46,554
Community Marine Resource Management in Pohnpei, The Conservation Society of Pohnpei (CSP)
Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $61,640
Pinpointing Pollution Sources in Maunalua Bay, University of Hawaii - Manoa
Maunalua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $87,500
Caribbean/Mesoamerican Projects:
Reducing Land-Based Pollution in St Lucia, Caribbean Student Environmental Alliance
Mabouya Valley, St. Lucia, Lesser Antilles
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $72,000
Watershed Management to Protect Reefs in Belize, Fauna & Flora International, Inc.
Golden Stream, Deep River and Rio Grande watersheds, Belize
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $50,000
Marker and Mooring Buoys in Caribbean Reefs, The Nature Conservancy
St.Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and Carriacou Island, Grenada
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $81,663
Statia National Marine Park Fishery Improvement, St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation
St. Eustatius National Park, Netherlands Antilles
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $17,000
Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Impact Reduction II, Conservation International Foundation
Cozumel, Mexico
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $57,907
Bonaire National Marine Park Resilience Assessment, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)
Bonaire National Marine Park, Netherlands Antilles
Coral Reef Conservation Fund Grant: $30,000