Coral Reef Research Institute Home Page
Coral Health and Monitoring Program
coral at coral.AOML.ERL.GOV
Thu Aug 31 15:48:14 EDT 1995
The following is a forwarded message from Jo Taylor of the World
Conservation Monitoring Centre:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 13 Sep 95 11:48:27 BST
From: Jo.Taylor at wcmc.org.uk
Subject: re: Coral Reef Research Institute Home Page
I attach info about WCMC'c activities in Coral Reef Mapping and our presence
on the Internet.
______________________
WORLD CONSERVATION
WCMC Project Profile MONITORING CENTRE
----------------------
Coral Reef Mapping
The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) is currently
undertaking a major initiative to digitally map the world's coral reefs. This
work is part of a collaborative venture with the International Center for
Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) in the Philippines which
will lead to the production of a global coral reef database to be known as
ReefBase.
Why are the data needed?
Darwin first produced a map of the world's coral reefs in 1842, a slightly
more detailed map was prepared by Joubin early this century. There have
been very few systematic global surveys of coral reefs since these
attempts - the only widely accepted summary statistics on reef coverage
were published by Smith in 1978, while a more detailed descriptive
account was provided in 1988 by the World Conservation Monitoring
Centre in the highly-acclaimed three volume series "Coral Reefs of the
World". There is a wide and growing need for recent, accurate
information describing coral reefs at higher resolutions than are currently
available. Such data, at the international level, are required by aid
agencies, conservation organisations and industry as well as individual
scientists and the public for uses that include planning operations and
investment, monitoring changes, predicting fisheries statistics, planning
shipping routes, scientific research, conservation and education.
How can individual countries benefit?
The coastal zone is an area of considerable interest to a wide range of
users and detailed resource maps are increasingly important for planning
and management. Maps are used by government planners, fisheries
organisations, conservationists, scientists, protected areas agencies, and
private organisations. While many countries have already begun detailed
mapping programmes, others have not yet begun, or do not have the
resources available to undertake this work.
For those countries with little or no information at the national scale
relating to marine resources this project will provide maps, which could
be incorporated into national databases. The working scale of most maps
will be 1:250,000, with more detailed scales (1:50,000 or 1:100,000) for
specific sites and small nations. Due to the constraints of time and money
it will not be possible to undertake highly detailed work, nor will it be
possible to undertake any direct interpretation of remotely sensed data.
Where digital datasets do not exist WCMC is actively seeking to obtain
the best available maps in hard copy which it will then digitise. These
maps, and there may be several for each country, could range in both
quality and scale (with 1:250,000 being set as the ideal). The final
digitised product would be made freely available to all contributors.
For countries with existing coastal resource maps at the national level,
either on hard copy or in digital format. Such data will prove very valuable
for the ReefBase initiative. Non-digitised maps will be digitised and made
available to the suppliers of the data. Digital maps will be incorporated
directly where these are available. High resolution maps will be
summarised as necessary. All the data will be fully acknowledged and
referenced.
Reef Maps - features to be incorporated
The prime focus of this work will be to map coral reef distribution:
coastlines, emergent reef crest or reef polygons and simple bathymetric
data for coral reef areas. A separate project is currently underway to map
the global distribution of mangrove forests which, although of lower
resolution, will be a very useful complimentary dataset. Where possible
it is hoped to incorporate other features relating to biodiversity and
coastal sensitivity, as funding and time permits. The following is a list of
features for which data will be incorporated subject to these provisos:
Physical features:
Coastline, differentiated if available, into mud, sand/gravel, rock, cliffs
etc.; Emergent reef crest; Reef areas as polygons where available;
Bathymetric data - 20, 50 and/or 100m wherever available; Simple wind,
tide and current data
Further substrate/habitat data:
Mangrove; Seagrass; Mud, sand, rock, coral dominated habitat
Species data:
Turtle feeding and nesting sites; Reef fish distribution; Seabird colonies;
Manatee and dugong distribution data
Human aspects:
Protected areas; Fisheries data; Shipping channels; Research stations;
Dive sites; Towns and cities; Tourist and fishing centres; Other planning
regimes (shipping, fishing, controls)
For all countries and contributors. ReefBase, a global database describing
the coral reefs and reef systems of the world will be prepared on CD-ROM
and freely distributed to all contributors. The data on ReefBase will include
a simple geographic information system (GIS) and bit-maps for every
country along with summary statistics describing reef areas, protected
areas and other management regimes, fisheries, economics, taxonomic
information and much more.
In addition to receiving data at the global level, participants will be
linked,
through ReefBase into a loose network of collaborating individuals,
institutions and organisations.
Funding and progress to date
The World Conservation Monitoring Centre has highlighted coral reefs as
key habitats of conservation importance and concern, and this initiative
ties in closely with previous work at the Centre in the preparation of the
"Coral Reefs of the World" volumes. Partial funding has come from the
European Community, through the linkage to ReefBase. Further funding
has been drawn from other projects at WCMC, including work on small
island developing states for the United Nations Environment Programme,
and current support from the International Petroleum Industry
Environmental Conservation Association. Thus, although there is no single
funding base, work is progressing steadily. By early 1995 detailed reef
maps had been prepared or incorporated for over 25 countries.
For further information on Coral Reef Mapping, please contact:
Richard Luxmoore, Head of WCMC's Habitats Programme;
Richard.Luxmoore at wcmc.org.uk
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For further information, please contact:
The Information Officer
World Conservation Monitoring Centre Tel: +44 (0)1223 277314
219 Huntingdon Road Fax: +44 (0)1223 277136
Cambridge CB3 0DL, United Kingdom e-mail: info at wcmc.org.uk
WCMC Conservation Information Service is sponsored by the BT
Community Programme
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coral.prj mar95gy
__________________________
WORLD CONSERVATION
WCMC Information Services MONITORING CENTRE
--------------------------
Internet Services
WCMC is expanding its information services by using international
communications networks - especially the Internet, which is the most
widely used network for science. The Internet allows WCMC to access
and be accessed electronically by other users of the network.
Recent estimates indicate millions of users are linked via the Internet.
To assist these users, a number of programs and services are available
through the Internet to enable organisations to manage their own
information and to retrieve information from other users. The most
commonly used features include Email, World Wide Web, Gopher, List
Servers, Anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Wide Area
Information Servers (WAIS). WCMC is utilising these facilities to provide
information and meta-database services via the Internet. (Meta-databases
are databases of databases, i.e. they tell users where information can be
obtained). Five services are in operation:
- World Wide Web (WWW) - for users of the WWW, WCMC
has released its own WWW home page providing access to
conservation data and information, including text, tables,
maps and images. This can be accessed through the following
universal resource locator (URL) http://www.wcmc.org.uk
- Anonymous FTP - this allows users of the Internet to copy
files to and from a dedicated disk area at WCMC on which a
variety of information is available already. The address of this
disk is: ftp.wcmc.org.uk
- List Server - an electronic discussion forum for CITES-related
issues using email.
- WCMC hosts a node for the Microbial Strain Data Network
(MSDN).
- Biodiversity Information Network - WCMC is one of five
WWW nodes for the BIN21 network, that disseminates
information relating to Agenda 21 and informs the global
biodiversity community of regional contacts and current
activities.
WCMC is a primary test site for a meta-database system serving a range
of environmental disciplines. This will allow network users to browse
through descriptions and view examples of WCMC's data-sets. The meta-
database uses the Consortium for International Earth Science Information
Network (CIESIN) Catalog System and lists WCMC data, including an
inventory of products and services. It is both X and character-based and
belongs to the NASA Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) family of
connected meta-databases.
Following a review of existing systems, WCMC has embarked on two
projects to develop its own meta-database systems. The first project
provided an Internal Meta-database System (IMS) that is used for the
internal search and retrieval of information. The second project is
developing a Metadata Entry Tool (MET) allowing external users to fill in
meta-data records describing WCMC data-sets. This has been developed
to export to one of three formats, CIESIN Directory Interchange Format
(DIF), NASA GCMD DIF, and UNEP GRID. WCMC is beta-testing this
system for operational use by October 1994.
WCMC's long term objectives are to make information and data available
to users through an open and transparent on-line information service. The
services offered will be periodically expanded in response to feedback
from users and to include further information that becomes available.
For information on the above please contact:
Ian Barnes, Data and Communications Coordinator
e-mail: ian.barnes at wcmc.org.uk
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For further information on other WCMC projects, please contact:
The Information Officer
World Conservation Monitoring Centre Tel: +44 (0)1223 277314
219 Huntingdon Road Fax: +44 (0)1223 277136
Cambridge CB3 0DL, United Kingdom e-mail: info at wcmc.org.uk
WCMC Conservation Information Service is sponsored by the BT
Community Programme
------------------------------------------------------------------------
internet.inf oct94y
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