NATURAL PRESSURES PLACED UPON CORAL REEFS

·         Flooding and Surface Runoff

·         Tropical storm damages

·         Predator plagues

·         Coral Diseases

Ø  White band diseases(WBD)

Ø  Black band diseases(BBD)

Ø  Pink band diseases(PBD)

·         Coral bleaching

THE REEFS OF SRI LANKS ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE CATEGORIES

·         True coral reefs

·         Sandstone reefs

·         Boulder reefs of crystalline rock

Government agencies responsible for coral reefs conservation in Sri Lanka

·         Ministry of fisheries and Ocean Resources

·         Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources

·         Department of Wildlife Conservation

·         National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency

·         Coast Conservation Department

·         Central Environment Authority

·         Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

·         ICRI-International Coral Reefs Initiative- http://www.icriforum.org

·         GCRMN-Global Coral Reefs Monitoring Network-http://www.ioc.unesco.org/gcrmn

·         CORDIO-Coral Reef Degradation In The Indian Ocean- http://www.cordio.org

·          CORAL-The Coral Reefs Alliance- http://www.coral.org

·         Reef Check- http://www.reefcheck.org

·         Sri Lanka Coral Reef Forum