- Coral Reef Alliance
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Coral Reef Alliance 
Founder(s) Stephan Colwell Type Charitable trust Founded 1994
Berkeley, CaliforniaLocation San Francisco, California Key people Brian Huse, Executive Director Focus Environmentalism Employees 16 Members 7,000 Motto Working together to keep coral reefs alive Website www.coral.org The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, that partners with local reef communities around the world to protect coral reefs. CORAL was founded in Berkeley, California, in 1994 by Stephan Colwell,[1] And is currently headed by Brian Huse. With 19% of the world's coral reefs already destroyed and another 35% at immediate risk or threatened due to human pressures, [2] Organizations like CORAL are addressing an urgent need in the global ecosystem.
As of 2007, CORAL has 16 employees and 8 international project sites around the world: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System--spanning Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras-- as well as Hawaii, Fiji, and the archipelago of Raja Ampat, Indonesia. The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is the only international organization working exclusively to unite communities to protect our planet’s coral reefs.
Contents
Mission statement
The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is a member-supported nonprofit organization, dedicated to keeping coral reefs alive by integrating ecosystem management, sustainable tourism, and community partnerships.
History
The organization was founded in 1994 in Berkeley, California by Stephan Colwell. The Coral Reef Alliance, better known as CORAL was founded in attempt the slow the destruction of coral reefs spread throughout the world. After the first documentation of the significant decline of reefs due to human activities, CORAL was established to engage the diving community to protect the reefs. In 1995 CORAL started their first website to help expand communication and news feed. Shortly after they partnered with the Palau Conservation Society (grant of $72,000) to support protection of Rock Island Marine Park. [3] After a year or two Colwell decided to start a membership program to increase charitable income to help with different activities around the globe. In 1997 the Coral Reef Alliance was selected to appear in a 30-minute PBS documentary entitled The Visionaries, filmed on Palau Island, Micronesia. The show documented CORAL's work to promote coral reef conservation and was distributed to 175 television markets across the country to be aired four times throughout each market. The year 2009 marked the 15 year anniversary for the Coral Reef Alliance.
Organization
The Coral Reef Alliance or CORAL is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.[4] They depend on the support of individual donors, foundations, and corporate and government grants to build grassroots conservation partnerships among local community members, government leaders, and marine recreation providers in seven field locations around the world.[5] CORAL currently has six coral reef locations around the world. Many of Coral's employees are stationed around the world in countries like: Indonesia, Fiji, Belize, Honduras, Mexico, and some states of the United States. The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is the only international organization working exclusively to unite communities to protect our planet’s coral reefs.
Activism
The Coral Reef Alliance engages in many different protest and confrontations to protect marine wildlife. CORAL promotes conservation through our Coral Reef Sustainable Destination (CRSD) approach, a holistic model that combines marine protected area (MPA) management and sustainable business operation for community benefit. [6] CORAL's efforts groups have been focusing their attention to the Coral Triangle just south of Micronesia. Their protest has included protests against fish poaching, destruction of coral reefs, chemical and trash dumps into the coastal area. CORAL's active leaders have resolute in maintaining a peaceful standpoint in attempt to avoid violent confrontations.
References
- ^ "Ecosystems facing destruction". 2000-11-17. http://www.dailycal.org/printable.php?id=3993.
- ^ Wilkinson, Clive (2008). Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008. pp. 5.
- ^ "CORAL's Historical Timeline". Coral Reef Alliance. http://www.coral.org/who_we_are/about_the_organization/timeline. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Financials". Coral Reef Alliance. http://www.coral.org/who_we_are/about_the_organization/financials. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Financials". Coral Reef Alliance. http://www.coral.org/who_we_are/about_the_organization/financials. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "What We Do". Coral Reef Alliance. http://www.coral.org/what_we_do. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
External links
Categories:- Environmental organization stubs
- International environmental organizations
- Diving organizations
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