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The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg confirmed that global sustainable development and poverty reduction requires a healthier and more sustainably managed ocean. WSSD paid special attention to coral reefs, which are critical for many countries, especially the Small Island Developing States. WSSD recommended that to sustain coral reefs will require integrated coastal and watershed management, the establishment of networks of marine protected areas, and the necessary institutional capacity building to foster these management approaches and help deliver them on the ground. Similar requests were made at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Durban in 2003. These are tasks for the international coral reef community; our organizations strongly support these goals and are actively contributing towards their achievement.

Coral reef managers have to balance sustainable use and reef conservation; therefore the relations between human behaviour and reef ecosystems are critical.