• Healthy coral reef in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Courtesy of NOAA.

    • Case Study

    Pollution and Coral Health in the Virgin Islands

    Coral communities are under pressure from land-based pollutants and sediments. Now, coastal managers now can access an effective tool to correlate human land-use activity with coral reef condition. Resource managers can use this information to increase resilience for corals—and the people who depend on them.

    Year
    2021

    Details

    Hazards
    Water Quality
    Assets
    Aquatic and Marine Resources

    Click the link below to read the case study and learn about the project in the NOAA Digital Coast Stories from the Field.  

    Identifying Sources of Pollution That Impact Coral Reef Communities in the Virgin Islands » 

     

    Tools & Data

    Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) Land Cover Atlas

    Additional Resources

    Oliver LM, et al, (2011) Marine Ecology Progress Series 427: 293–302, 2011
    Stony Coral Rapid Bio-Assessment Protocol
    NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP)

    Organizations

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Gulf Ecology Division
    NOAA Digital Coast

    Relevant Options

    Create a targeted public education program about watersheds and shared responsibility. Develop an education campaign to keep plastic out of waterways and lagoons. Develop a watershed plan to guide infrastructure and improvement projects. Watershed plans can influence zoning and prompt infrastructure evaluations and stream restoration.

    Steps to Resilience

    photo

  • toolbox credit

    • Get Started
    Understand Exposure
    Assess Vulnerability & Risk
    Investigate Options
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    Prioritize & Plan
    Take Action
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