About Us

Who we are

The Coral Reef Targeted Research & Capacity Building for Management Program (CRTR) is a leading international coral reef research initiative that provides a coordinated approach to credible, factual and scientifically-proven knowledge for improved coral reef management.

The CRTR Program is a partnership between the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank, The University of Queensland (Australia), the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and approximately 50 research institutes and other third parties around the world.

The CRTR Program is co-ordinated across geographic nodes - Centres of Excellence – Philippines, Mexico, Zanzibar and Australia - that reflect the regional distribution of coral reefs and the management initiatives underway to conserve them. These regional nodes are the focal points for research carried out by international scientifists through coordinated Working Groups which address the following research themes:

The overall research framework ensures integration between the Working Groups and is overseen by a Synthesis Panel of key research leaders.

The issues

Coral reefs occupy only 0.1% of the ocean’s surface, yet they are the world’s richest repository of marine biodiversity. They are the largest living structures on Earth — the only natural communities distinctly visible from space. Complex and productive, coral reefs have survived over the course of more than 400 million years of evolution, and possess a remarkable richness, diversity of life and structure.

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. Today, coral reefs around the world are in such serious decline that they put at risk the environmental and economic stability of many coastal nations. Of the 109 countries with significant coral reef communities, at least 93 are experiencing damage. Many coral reefs have reached a state of decline that they can no longer be considered as coral reefs, while others are under increasing threat from local human disturbances and impacts from a changing global climate.

While managers struggle to maintain a balance between use and conservation, we do not know enough about the fundamental factors affecting coral reefs in many areas to make practical management decisions. Nor do we have sufficient understanding to plan for changes brought about by the transformation of these ecosystems — especially over the next 30 years.

Today’s environmental problems are increasingly complex and intractable. There are many actions that can and are being undertaken to reverse negative trends for coral reefs, and to raise awareness of their importance to coastal societies, but the tools in the toolbox remain woefully inadequate in the face of multiple stresses.

This targeted research framework is systematically identifying information gaps, and prioritizing them in order of strategic importance to management, so that the resulting information and tools developed can lead to credible outcomes.

Our people

The CRTR is composed of leading international researchers from across the globe who are operating under the six scientific Working Groups and regional Centres of Excellence. Our people are: