NOAA
RELEASES FIVE-YEAR CORAL REEF RESEARCH PLAN March
2, 2007 � NOAA released the NOAA
Coral Reef Ecosystem Research Plan, identifying priority research
needs and guidance for coral reef research through 2011. The plan looks
at key research objectives and long-term needs to enhance NOAA’s
understanding of coral reef ecosystems and provide guidance to coastal
and ocean managers on regional research priorities to help preserve,
sustain and restore coral reef ecosystems. (Click NOAA image
for larger view of the cover for the “NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem
Research Plan.” Click
here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”) Two earlier NOAA reports, The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2002 and 2005, summarized the status and health of coral reef ecosystems throughout U.S. waters. Based on these status reports, the research plan outlines the national and regional research needed to address the many management challenges presented by current coral reef decline. The research plan also builds on strategies identified in NOAA’s Strategic Plan, NOAA’s five- and 20-year Research Plan, the National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs, the National Coral Reef Action Strategy and the U.S. Ocean Action Plan. The Coral
Ecosystem Research Plan is a product of the NOAA
Coral Reef Conservation Program, which consists of NOAA Research,
NOAA Ocean Service, NOAA
Fisheries Service, and NOAA
Satellite and Information Service. The plan covers all shallow-water
coral reef ecosystems under the jurisdiction of the United States and
is intended for resource managers, scientists, policy makers and the
public. NOAA, 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 the 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. Relevant Web Sites NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Media
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