Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean Threat Assessment Workshop Summary

The Reefs at Risk Caribbean project workshop focused on improving a threat assessment model for coral reefs using proxy indicators. Key discussions centered on refining data for coastal development, watershed-based pollution, overfishing, and coral bleaching. Participants recommended incorporating higher-resolution data, adjusting population density metrics for fishing pressure, and treating coral bleaching and disease as separate analysis layers rather than integrated threat model components. The workshop also addressed the need for better mapping of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and the economic valuation of reefs.

• The current model for estimating threats from coastal development is considered an underestimate. To improve accuracy, the project will incorporate factors such as poverty, coastal population density, the location of ports, and more comprehensive tourism data beyond just 'dive centers'.
• The 1km resolution used for watershed-based pollution and sedimentation analysis is too coarse for small islands. The project aims to move toward a sub-regional analysis (e.g., Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, Bahamas, USA, Central America, and South America) to harmonize results using data of consistent quality.
• The analysis of overfishing pressure requires significant refinement. Recommendations include weighting coastal population density by shelf area, clipping data by Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), reducing the assumed fisherman travel distance from 40km to 10-20km, and using lobster and conch data as proxies for fishing effort.
• Coral bleaching and coral disease should be treated as separate layers for discussion and mapping rather than being integrated into the primary threat model. For bleaching, a pilot analysis of 'relative resistance' will focus on water depth, water movement, and cloud cover during the peak months of July through September.
• The database for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) contains errors, including missing internationally-designated MPAs and the inclusion of terrestrial areas without marine components. A four-point rating scheme (High, Moderate, Low, and None) was adopted to assess management effectiveness.
• Economic valuation of coral reefs will be conducted by ICLARM using a primary approach of metadata analysis based on past research, supplemented by actual data on fisheries production and tourism income.

APA

Burke, L., Maidens, J., & Menard, S. (2002). Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean Threat Assessment Workshop Summary. World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/reefrisk_caribbean_workshop_summary.pdf

Chicago

Burke, Lauretta, Jon Maidens, and Stephen Menard. Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean Threat Assessment Workshop Summary. World Resources Institute, 2002. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/reefrisk_caribbean_workshop_summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Burke |first1=Lauretta |last2=Maidens |first2=Jon |last3=Menard |first3=Stephen |title=Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean Threat Assessment Workshop Summary |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=20 November 2002 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/reefrisk_caribbean_workshop_summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{burke2002reefs, author = {Burke, Lauretta and Maidens, Jon and Menard, Stephen}, title = {{Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean Threat Assessment Workshop Summary}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2002}, month = nov, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/reefrisk_caribbean_workshop_summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }