Coral Health Index (CHI): measuring coral community health

CHI report coverEffective local management of coral reefs has a direct effect on reducing threats and improving overall coral community health. Careful zoning and effective enforcement of resource use within a marine managed area reduces impact of overfishing, allowing populations of grazing fish to rejuvenate and maintain healthy ecosystem functioning. Coral reefs that are healthy have greater resilience and ability to recover from chronic and acute stress. Adaptive management of coral reef communities will be most effective if a reliable annual indicator of community health is available to resource managers and policy makers. The Coral Health Index (CHI), developed by Conservation International's Science-to-Action partnership, is just such a tool.