NOAA's Reporter's Coral Reef Tip Sheet
October 6, 1997 - Week 40

The Environment Family of the World Bank, in cooperation with International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), the Smithsonian Institution, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) will hold a three-day Conference on coral reefs associated with the Fifth Annual World Bank Conference on Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, and the 1997 International Year of the Reef.

The Conference is dedicated to the memory of Captain Jacques Yves Cousteau, and will be held at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on October 9, 10 and 11, 1997. An exhibit accompanying the conference will take place in the Main Complex Atrium and will be on display October 6. It will include videos and interactive computer models, photographs exemplifying sustainable and non-sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems. The World Bank will publish the proceedings of the Conference.

The goal of the Conference is to apprise World Bank staff, other development professionals, environmental journalists, and the general public of key issues associated with coral reefs, their degradation, sustainable use options, and conservation. The Conference will provide a framework for discussion of follow-up actions in areas such as sustainable marine enterprise, consumer education and marketing, policy and regulatory frameworks, and examine regional and local strategies to combat coral reef degradation. The Conference will also provide a forum to help set an agenda for the International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium (ITMEMS), a quadrennial event to be launched in Australia in 1998.

The Conference will address a broad spectrum of issues related to the world's coral reefs including:
· Reef destructive practices such as dynamite and cyanide fishing and coral mining
· Illegal trade in reef products such as live food fish and the aquarium trade
· Marine Protected Areas
· Information management and environmental education (for example, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, Reef Check and electronic databases such as ReefBase, FishBase, CoralBase)
· Economic valuation of coral reefs

Recognized scientists and practitioners from the field will present overview papers introducing each of the themes. Speakers, panelists and invitees come from a wide range of interest groups to ensure as broad a coverage of the issues as possible.

Public participation is welcome; however, registration is required. You can register for this conference on-line at http://www-esd.worldbank.org/coralreef97/registration.shtml.
For more information on the Conference, including the Conference Agenda and list of invited panelists, please refer to:

http://www-esd.worldbank.org/coralreef97/home.shtml

Contact:
Clare Fleming
202-473-2874
email: cfleming@worldbank.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE REEF , PLEASE CONTACT: