While high biodiversity and the presence of marine tourism play big roles in identifying potential CORAL project sites, a good deal more is involved in our analysis. Site selection is determined by evaluating potential destinations for political stability and safety, type of threats, funding availability, local support for marine protected areas, and the presence of potential conservation partner organizations.

The current geographic focus of our field work is in the Asia/Pacific and Caribbean/Latin America regions (with a particular emphasis on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef). Our nine active project sites are located in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, the United States (Hawaii), Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. Explore our sites on these pages and on the Worldwide Google Map [1].

Over the next five years, CORAL will be expanding the CRSD [2] program to support seventeen strategically located MPA communities as centers of coral reef excellence [3]. From these centers of excellence, our CORAL Reef Leadership Network [4] will disseminate the skills and lessons of successful conservation to neighboring marine communities to build coral reef resilience at each location. Over time, these protected reefs will become a reserve system, restocking depleted reefs, building community pride, and ensuring that we have healthy coral reefs for millions of years to come.

Explore each of our project locations to learn more about what makes these ecosystems so valuable, the threats facing the reefs, and the myriad ways that CORAL is saving coral reefs for future generations.

See the Reefs

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Featuring stunning underwater photographs and a DVD from Scubazoo, Reef (DK Publishing) is the perfect gift for ocean lovers, divers, and coral reef enthusiasts. CORAL receives a portion of every sale; buy the book at a discount through Amazon today. Find out more » [6]