GCRMN Caribbean Guidelines for Integrated Coral Reef Monitoring

The GCRMN-Caribbean recognizes the importance of using an integrated approach to coral reef monitoring and seeks to promote the systematic implementation of a monitoring of social science indicators in conjunction with biophysical monitoring, in order to enhance the ability to make connections and inferences between observed changes in the coral reef ecosystem quality and human and social parameters. To serve this purpose, the GCRMN-Caribbean has agreed on regional technical coral reef biophysical monitoring guidelines4 and integrated coral reef monitoring guidelines, presented hereby, to guide and support coral reef practitioners and relevant programmes. Those guidelines provides a multi-level framework for existing and developing monitoring programmes to contribute data that support a regional understanding of status and trends of Caribbean coral reefs.