Coral Reef Initiative for the South Pacific (CRISP) is a French inter-ministerial project founded in 2002. Its aims focus on developing a vision for the future for coral reef eco-systems and the communities that depend on them within the French overseas territories and Pacific Island developing countries. Programme coordination is provided by the CRISP Coordination Unit and a programme manager who is supported by scientific counselors. The programme is hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community who is located in

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...

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. CRISP is under the institutional protection from the

Pacific Community The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa ...

and the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme. It is a regional initiative that promotes the protection and sustainable management of the coral reefs of the Pacific island states.

History

During the French-Oceania Summit of 2003, French President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

promoted the idea of bringing together Oceania participants to work towards sustainable development of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s. Its launch was announced in September 2004 during the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) meeting held in

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

. At the initial launch, the project was valued at

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

10 million over the course of three years, involving fifteen Pacific Island countries and three French Pacific Territories, (

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, and

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; french: Wallis-et-Futuna or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji ...

) envisioned as a "driving belt" between these locales. The programme's implementation was facilitated by the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

(UNEP). Its establishment also included a political desire for local oversight in the Pacific region.

Programmes

Some of CRISP's components include integrated coastal and watershed management, and development of coral ecosystems. The ReefBase Pacific project is a collaborative programme with Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). International Coral Reef Action Network (IRCAN) projects have also been incorporated into CRISP. An additional component is educational, such as the Workshop on Economic Evaluation of MPAs that was sponsored by CRISP in 2008. In partnership with SPREP, CRISP also supports activities of various societies such as the ''Aiga Folau o Samoa'' (Samoa Voyaging Society), which is promoting the spread of regional awareness in protecting the environment. CRISP provides support to organizations in developing case studies, of which Navakavu Locally Managed Marine Area,

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian P ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

(2009) is one example. For the Navakavu Locally Managed Marine Area study, CRISP provided biological monitoring test and comparison, as well as fish larvae research. Pacific COREMO (Coral Reef Monitoring) database training of 2009 through the Institute of Marine Resources at the University of the South Pacific included representatives from CRISP, one of its partner organizations. Supporting

Kanak The Kanak (French spelling until 1984: Canaque) are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific. According to the 2019 census, the Kanak make up 41.2% of New Caledonia's ...

traditions, CRISP's partnership with

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The organ ...

provided recommendations and underwater species guides to the Kanak people.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Official website
Organizations established in 2002 Coral reefs Animal welfare organizations based in France Organizations based in New Caledonia 2002 establishments in France