Local workers help place ‘reefball’ for a reef restoration study in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Within an equatorial band between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, coral reefs are the lifeblood of near-shore, tropical waters and play a key role for the coastal populations that depend on food and resources for daily livelihoods.

The CRTR Program is coordinated across geographic nodes - Centres of Excellence in Philippines, Mexico, Zanzibar and Australia - that reflect the regional distribution of coral reefs and the management initiatives underway to conserve them.

At the regional level, CRTR scientists are working with local scientists, building local capacity.The CRTR Program’s 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 CRTR Program has developed a set of standard operating procedures which present a standard approach to collecting state and process variables at the various habitats in the vicinity of each CoE and other satellite locations. The document provides a means for other regions and research groups to adopt these methods, minimizing the variation in data collection and facilitating our interpretation and understanding of coral-reef dynamics.