Dr Gregor Hodgson, is a method for checking the health of a coral reef that can be easily used by volunteers. Reef-World provides the tools and means for dive operators to offer Reef Check as part of their services, and links the survey data collected by volunteers with other data collection programmes carried out by Government agencies and universities in the region. In Indonesia, Ketut Sarjana Putra organised a 'Training for Trainers' programme that has resulted in the Reef Check methodology being used by divers at 33 sites in eight locations. The data is coordinated through the WWF Indonesia Office and fed back to the volunteers, media and Government decision makers. Dr Kirkman said the Phuket meeting identified the importance of providing feedback to the community so that it could participate in monitoring and managing the environment, and the need for greater standardisation and sharing of information.
Corals are colonies of individual animals and plants which succeed through collaborative strategies.