Over 2,000 scientists, managers, students and journalists from 82 different countries attended the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), which was held between 9th and 13th July 2012 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. This important conference is held every 4 years to bring together various stakeholders involved at the international level in the protection of coral reefs. Delegates at the symposium highlighted the plight of coral reefs around the world: coral reefs are threatened by global climate change impacts such as sea level rise, as well as human impacts such as sedimentation, pollution, habitat destruction and overfishing. Approximately 25-30% of coral reefs are already severely degraded. The opening keynote presentation at the ICRS conference called for bold action to save the world's coral reefs for the millions of people who depend on them.

Mr. Jean Stephen Jovani Raffin, Science Officer at Shoals Rodrigues, a marine conservation NGO from Mauritius, was invited to attend the ICRS 2012 conference to present on the subject of "Improving Management Effectiveness of the Marine Reserves of Rodrigues (Western Indian Ocean)" on July 13th 2012, at the Cairns Convention Centre. Mr. Raffin presented the outcomes of a recent project spearheaded by Shoals Rodrigues with the financial and technical support of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) implemented by UNDP, also supported by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly (RRA) and the Regional Programme for the Sustainable Management of the Coastal Zones of the Countries of the Indian Ocean (ReCoMaP), financed by the European Union. The project received US$ 40,010 in grant funding from GEF SGP, while raising a total of US$ 92,759 in co-financing. It was funded under the Biodiversity focal area and was implemented between July 2010 and May 2012.

Rodrigues is a semi-autonomous region within the Republic of Mauritius, situated within the Mascarene Archipelago, a recognized global biodiversity hotspot. The island is of volcanic origin and is fringed by an extensive reef, with a wide shallow lagoon covering an area of 240 square kilometers. Intensive fishing pressure in the lagoon has resulted in drastic declines of both finfish and invertebrate landings and degradation of lagoon habitats. In recognition of the importance of these marine resources, the Rodrigues Regional Assembly (RRA) gazetted a number of new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), a policy decision resulting in part from the efforts of a previous GEF SGP project to improve the management of the lagoon's living marine resources. The newly established MPAs include four marine reserves in the North, which were selected by local communities with the support of Shoals Rodrigues and GEF SGP. In addition, a larger multiple-use MPA in the South was also established, with support from a UNDP-GEF project.

The GEF SGP project "Improving Management Effectiveness for the Marine Protected Areas of Rodrigues" aimed to increase the capacity of the previously established Marine Reserve Coordination Committee (MRCC) to effectively manage the new marine reserves in the northern Rodrigues lagoon. One of the key project activities was the development of a joint management plan for the four new marine reserves in the northern Rodrigues lagoon. Training was provided in planning, monitoring and effective evaluation methods to aid decision-making and adaptive management. A revised monitoring programme was developed for the new marine reserves to ensure that the biophysical, socio-economic and governance indicators selected are appropriate for monitoring the effectiveness of all the MPAs. Other key project activities included awareness raising among the numerous stakeholders and the general public regarding the new and previously established MPAs as well as developing a rapid response plan for coral bleaching and other incidents such as pollution and oil spills.

Mr. Raffin described as one of the results of the project, the wide recognition generated in Rodrigues that the effectiveness of marine protected areas, such as the northern Marine Reserves of Rodrigues, can be improved when local marine resource users are more involved in management planning processes. While public participation is usually addressed just through consultations, this project involved local communities in the implementation of the reserves by empowering local stakeholders to actually write the management plan for these four northern reserves. Mr. Raffin emphasized that the plan was developed through a series of training workshops, extensive community consultations and a 2-month public consultation period, all of which have ensured that the interests of local marine resource users will be taken into consideration in the final draft of the management plan.

It is believed that this management plan for the northern Marine Reserves is the first plan in the region that has been written by local marine resource users. Participation at the ICRS 2012 therefore presented Shoals Rodrigues with a unique opportunity to showcase these efforts to protect the marine environment in Rodrigues at an international platform. It also gave Mr. Raffin the opportunity to learn about current research methods being developed in other parts of the world to discuss new ideas and to form future collaborations that will help to improve Shoals Rodrigues' continuing efforts to protect the marine environment in Rodrigues. Mr. Raffin received support from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation to attend the ICRS 2012 conference.

Contact

Pamela Bapoo Dundoo, National Coordinator, GEF SGP Mauritius, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.