Thank you to the 190 Network members who completed this year’s survey. It was wonderful to learn about the marine areas you manage and how we can better serve you in your management work. This was the first year we asked you to describe your marine managed area—and it was incredible to read all about the places you care about and work to protect. Thank you!
We are delighted that 75% of Network members who completed this year’s survey have applied what they learned from Network resources while implementing management activities. Network members expressed that their involvement with the Network has kept them up to date on coral reef resilience science and management strategies; helped them feel more confident in their management roles and decisions; improved their coral reef restoration methods; and enhanced how they communicate with their communities and stakeholders. In addition,
- 84% have learned effective management practices from the Network's resources, trainings, or experts; and
- 82% state that the Network has connected them to resources, trainings, peers, and/or mentorship that have been useful to their work.
“The Network's resources have fundamentally changed how I approach community-based conservation. I now incorporate specific reef resilience concepts into our local co-management and outreach strategies. This has allowed me to better explain the ecological and economic value of 'no-take' zones and sanctuary boundaries to local fishers and stakeholders.” ~Network member survey respondent
This year's results also highlight the challenges facing marine managers today. Network members listed land-based pollution, bleaching, coastal development, and unsustainable fishing as the top local threats impacting their reef areas. They also listed lack of budget as the greatest barrier in their marine management work, followed by staff needing more/different skills, and organizational barriers.
This is where the Network can help. We asked for feedback on what you need, and heard:
- More webinars, self-paced online courses, and mentored online courses, which continue to be the most popular and effective online offerings
- Learning and skill-building opportunities on the topics of conservation technologies and AI, climate-smart management planning, reef restoration, innovative/sustainable finance, sustainable livelihoods, data analysis and modeling, management effectiveness of marine protected areas, and monitoring (in order of most requested)
- More practical, applied training and implementation-focused support (like step-by-step guides)
- More region-specific case studies and guidance that help practitioners apply concepts directly in their local contexts
- More in-person member engagement activities, peer-to-peer learning exchanges, and mentoring opportunities with more post-training networking, such as a WhatsApp group
Our team is continuing to review all of the feedback and exploring how we can implement your suggestions into upcoming online courses, webinars, case studies, podcast episodes, and article summaries and future fundraising strategies. We greatly appreciate your guidance.
It is worth noting that some of the resources you requested via the survey already exist on reefresilience.org. We highlighted some of the top resource requests below.
We look forward to continuing to improve and support you in your management work, and we welcome additional feedback at any time.
All the best from the Reef Resilience Network team,
Petra, Kristen, Cherie, Annick, Michelle, and Henry
Results Snapshot
Top local threats to areas where Network members work
Topics that Network members want to learn more about
Barriers to marine management for Network members
Requested Resources on reefresilience.org
Click on the + icon to explore Network resources on each topic.
Monitoring
Lesson 4: Assessing and Monitoring Reefs in the Coral Reef Management Online Course - provides an overview of how to design different reef monitoring programs
Help from on High: Monitoring Coral Bleaching with Drones podcast episode
Improving Reef Monitoring Efficiency with MERMAID podcast episode
Disturbance Response Monitoring of Florida’s Coral Reef case study
Transforming Coral Reef Monitoring with MERMAID webinar recording
Restoration
Coral Reef Restoration Online Course available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish
Coral Reef Restoration Toolkit
Case studies and article summaries about restoration
Climate change adaptation and climate resilience
Climate Adaptation Toolkit - designed to help MPA managers plan for climate adaptation.
Climate-Smart Management Planning in the Bahamas case study
Trust the Process: Climate Adaptation Planning in the Bahamas podcast episode
Climate-Smart Coral Reef and Watershed Management Using the Adaptation Design Tool in Guánica Bay Watershed, Puerto Rico case study
Adaptation Design Tool Online Course - available in English
Resilience-Based Management Online Course - available in English, Bahasa Indonesia, French, and Spanish
Community-based Climate Adaptation Toolkit - simple and easy to use approaches to engage communities in assessing and responding to climate impacts
Sustainable finance
MPA Finance Toolkit - focuses on varieties of mechanisms that can provide revenue to MPAs for different activities and provides guidance on how one might identify the most appropriate funding mechanisms to meet those needs in the short, medium, and long terms
Financing Protected Areas in Palau case study
Financing an MPA: The Blue Alliance Approach podcast episode
MPA management
Coral Reef Management Online Course available in English
Resilience-Based Management Online Course - available in English, Bahasa Indonesia, French, and Spanish
Management Effectiveness for Marine Protected Areas Online Course available in English, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, French, Spanish
GIS
Remote Sensing and Mapping for Coral Reef Conservation Online Course - available in English, Spanish, French, Swahili, and Bahasa Indonesia
Stormwater management
Wastewater Pollution Online Course - available in English, French, and Spanish
Emerging management solutions in the Wastewater Pollution Toolkit
Aquaculture
Aquaculture Toolkit - designed for marine managers and practitioners that are working in a reef system that contains nearshore aquaculture or are considering management decisions on whether or how to permit aquaculture in the nearshore environment
Invasive species
Managing risks from invasive species in the Local Threats and Management Toolkit
Confirm, then Act Fast: Encountering Invasive Soft Corals in Puerto Rico podcast episode
