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RC Dominican Republic wins CEMEX Environmental award 2006 Reef Check Dominican Republic was recently awarded the 2006 CEMEX Environmental Award for its dedicated work towards environmental conservation for the current year. CEMEX is a global cement industry leader which works to provide products of consistently high quality and reliable service to customers and communities around the world always promoting a sustainable future.The award consists of approximately US$5,000.00 in cash and 50 "Conservacion Transfronteriza" books which the recipient can sell to produce a similar amount in profits for a total of approximately US$10,000.00. RCDR will use these funds to support the national coral reef monitoring program and to promote the establishment of no-take zones. |
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Coral Reef Bleaching Monitoring at La Caleta National Underwater Park Reef check Founded in 1996 Reef Check Foundation is an international non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of two ecosystems: tropical coral reefs and California rocky reefs. With headquarters in Los Angeles and volunteer teams in more than 80 countries, Reef Check works to create partnerships among community volunteers, government agencies, businesses, universities and other non-profits. Reef Check goals are to: educate the public about the value of reef ecosystems and the current crisis affecting marine life; to create a global network of volunteer teams trained in Reef Check's scientific methods who regularly monitor and report on reef health; to facilitate collaboration that produces ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions; and to stimulate local community action to protect remaining pristine reefs and rehabilitate damaged reefs worldwide. Since 2004, Reef Check's was established in the Dominican Republic under the lead of Dr. Ruben Torres and a very supportive board of directors. Together, they have filled the gap in conservation of very important coastal marine resources of the Dominican Republic and its fast-growing tourism industry. In 1997, Reef Check conducted the first-ever global survey of coral reef health that provided scientific confirmation that our coral reefs were in crisis due to over-fishing, illegal fishing, and pollution. The results, published in a scientific journal in 1999, shocked many marine biologists who had not realized the extent of human impacts on reefs. In August 2002, Reef Check released its first five-year report, The Global Coral Reef Crisis – Trends and Solutions, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. Based on data collected by thousands of Reef Check volunteer divers in over 80 countries and territories, the report was the first scientific documentation of the dramatic worldwide decline in coral reef health over a five year period. The report concluded that there was virtually no reef in the world that remained untouched by human impacts, such as over fishing, pollution and climate change. Yet the success stories discussed in the report show that, with proper monitoring, management and protection, coral reefs can recover. It is up to us. Project Site Information La Caleta National Underwater Park is located on Las Americas highway 22 kilometers east of Santo Domingo, just before Las Americas international airport. It has an approximate area of 10km2. On the different bottom levels of the park you can find coral reefs and a wide variety of tropical fish, although due to overfishing the fish numbers are severely depleted. Coral Reef and Coral Bleaching Coral reefs are accumulations of the biological remains of carbonate-secreting organisms such as corals and algae. The coral reef structure itself is a thin veneer of living organisms that overlays the remains of generations, in some cases tens of thousands of years, of progressively older organisms. The reef structure serves as the basis for one of the highest diversity ecosystems on the planet that supports incredibly high rates of gross primary production. Coral reefs are home to more than 25% of all known marine fish species. Coral colonies are made up of hundreds or even thousands of genetically identical individuals called polyps. These polyps have microscopic algae called zooxanthellae living within their tissues. The zooxanthellae work like an internal symbiotic vegetable garden, carrying out photosynthesis and providing nutrients which help reef-building corals create reef structures, reefs are know to be “solar powered”. During the warmer months, coral and zooxanthellae break their mutual relationship, and the fact that zooxanthellae provides most of the coral’s nutrition, if water temperature remains high for a few weeks, the coral could die or get diseases unless the zooxanthellae can be replaced. The term bleaching is used because the bright colors of living corals are due to the colors of the zooxanthellae in coral tissue, when zooxanthellae are lost, corals appear white, or “bleached. Global Warming is the major contribuiting factor in sea water temperature changes. Summer months are registering higher than usual temperatures, and corals are bleaching even more than before. Project Objectives Primarily the project seeks to monitor 8 different reef sites within the park using the Reef Check Protocol (www.reefcheck.org). This local monitoring program is also part of the global survey being conducted by RC volunteers around the world to determine the effects of global warming on coral reef and the implications for the human race. At a regional level the information collected at La Caleta will be used the effectiveness of marine protected areas. The information can be used determine better management practices for the Park, and to document the status of reef health over the long term. At a local level Reef Check also involves and empower the community by involving them in monitoring reef health and participating in the solution of the problems affecting reefs at the Park. Project Sponsors
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Reef Check designed the Declaration of Reef Rights to raise 1 million signatures by December 2007 to commemorate the International Year of the Reefs in 2008. Read the Declaration and click on it to fill out the signature form, help us to spread the word around.
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