The Pacific Ocean is not only the largest ocean in the world, but also contains the largest proportion of coral reefs, especially remote reefs. These predominantly sit atop seamounts surrounded by deep oceanic waters and many are remote from most human disturbances, with the obvious exception of global climate change. The previous reports from Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) and the World Resources Institute have considered the coral reefs of the Pacific, especially those from the Central Pacific island and atoll reefs, as the least degraded on the planet. One could say that these reefs should probably remain the best reefs of the world in the next few decades.
This document is part of the status report series of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) founded in 1995 as part of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) to document the ecological conditions of coral reefs, to strengthen monitoring efforts, and to link existing organisations and people working with coral reefs around the world.
The GCRMN reports have sought to present the status of coral reefs of the world and of particular regions, the major threats to the reefs and their consequences, and the initiatives undertaken by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) or other organisational bodies to prevent coral reef decline and to foster coral reef recovery.
