Reef-friendly practices for local government  

The Coral Reef Targeted Research & Capacity Building for Management (CRTR) Local Government Initiative aims to help local government ‘green’ their policies and business practices so that they align with those factors essential to coral reef health and productivity. 

To achieve this, the Initiative is developing the ability of the CRTR Program Centres of Excellence to partner with local governments throughout the target regions and educate and help them adopt these ‘green’ practices. 

The anticipated outcomes of the Local Government Initiative include:  

• Better informed local government leaders who understand the implications of their development policies and business practices on coral reefs;
• Commitment by local leaders to change day-to-day business that threatens coral reef ecosystem health and productivity by adopting reef-friendly practices; and
• A ‘demonstration’ effect which encourages other local government officials to take action and champion needed reforms.

The main challenges faced by the Local Government Initiative in achieving its goals are:  

• Unsustainable fishing (such as blast and cyanide fishing) and coastal management practices
• Lack of public awareness, limited acceptance of rules and low level of compliance
• Lax enforcement
• Lack of plans/ordinance for coral reef management
• Lack of alternative income generating activities to reduce human impacts on the reef
• Lack of funding