Coral+Reef+Alliance

** Who created this organization? **
In 1994, the Coral Reef Alliance was founded by Stephen Colwell in Berkeley, California. It was originally created to educate the local diving community about coral conservation. Over the years they have expanded their organization from a small town conservation into an international nonprofit organization to unite communities and save our coral reefs.

Founded in 1994, the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is a member-supported organization, dedicated to protecting works with communities to identify and solve conservation challenges; changes attitudes and behavior throughcoral reefs by integrating ecosystem management, sustainable tourism, and community partnerships. CORAL education and training; provides resources to strengthen conservation efforts; and creates incentives for sustainable tourism. Like rain forests, coral reefs are invaluable resources for scientific research, with the potential to provide raw materials for lifesaving medical treatments. Reefs and their associated mangrove and sea grass ecosystems buffer coastlines from the destruction of devastating storms, and they provide rich economic opportunities through tourism and fishing.
 * Mission Statement **

** How is this organization making a difference? **
The Coral Reef Alliance has greatly impacted the environment in places such as Figi, Hawaii, and more. Although the organization itself has made a difference, so have the communities within CORAL. Over the years, CORAL has provided locals, fisherman, and divers with training and materials to conserve these beautiful coral reefs. CORAL also protects coral reefs against damaging tourists. The Coral Reef Alliance thought to educate the tourists beforehand about the fragile ecosystems of the sea, which has greatly reduced the damage of the coral during the tours. The Coral Reef Alliance has also created a model, called the CRSD, that measures the conservation capacity, or what can be done to conserve the area's reefs. The CRSD has helped the organization greatly in their success.

Why should we care about supporting this organization?
Although coral reefs make up less than one percent of the sea floor, they are home to about twenty-six percent of marine life. They are beneficial to people all over the world, and they are being destroyed. Eleven percent of the Earth's coral reefs are already gone and scientists predict another thirty percent may be lost in the next three decades, if they are not protected. Coral reefs are beneficial to the world by providing it with habitat, income, food, protection, and medicine. Coral reefs are home to over one million different types of marine life. They provide people with jobs and even impact the fishing community. They are also natural protectors that act like barriers to protect beaches, and natural healers that save lives by presenting the medical field with many medicines and treatments that have the potential to cure dangerous diseases and sicknesses.

** Where can you get involved with this organization? **
There are several ways people can help to conserve these fragile landscapes. CORAL always appreciates donations and volunteers. But it is not just donations that help. You can also conserve coral reefs by being a smart shopper, especially coral products. Harvesting coral jewelry is extremely dangerous to a coral reef, it can even be deadly. You can also support by buying a copy of //Reef,// a book and DVD whose proceeds go directly to CORAL. You can also help these environments in your daily life by changing your light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, planting trees, and buying energy-efficient automobiles. Sometimes, even the simplest things such as reduce, reuse, and recycle can help make our world a healthier place for everybody, because it only takes one person to change the world.

__Contact Information:__ The Coral Reef Alliance 351 California Street, Suite 650 San Francisco, CA 94104 Phone: (415) 834-0900 Fax: (415) 834-0999 Toll-Free: 1-888-CORAL-REEF

** When are upcoming events for this organization? **
There are no scheduled events in the near future, but CORAL has achieved many projects over recent years. Including the Mangrove Makeover and an ongoing project called Reef Resilience to Climate Change Training Program. The Mangrove Makeover was held in Mexico in September 2012. CORAL's staff had help from 40 high school students in a mangrove clean-up. Many do not know, but mangroves are extremely important to coral reefs. They make the coral more safe and healthier for fish communities. The clean-up had a monumental impact, collecting a total of over 600 pounds of garbage and litter. The Reef Resilience to Climate Change Training Program is a group of reef managers that intend to take action against one of the coral reef's biggest threats, climate change. As the temperatures of the ocean are rising, the number of healthy corals is decreasing. In fact, research shows that by 2050, almost all coral reefs will be threatened by the rising temperature. This training program will hopefully build the reefs resilience and reduce the damage produced by thermal stress.