The Mesoamerican Coral Reef Watch Program was modeled after Australia's Coral Watch Program and was developed by Dr. Alex Arrivillaga through The Nature Conservancy (TNC).  The MAR Coral Watch Program was launched in Mexico, Belize and Honduras in 2008 to garner support from recreational divers in monitoring coral bleaching throughout the region.  In each country TNC partnered with local NGOs who coordinated the MAR Coral Reef Watch Program.

Since 2008 ECOMAR has been coordinating the Mesoamerican Coral Reef Watch Program in Belize, or the Belize Coral Watch Program.  The Belize Coral Watch Program has develeped three interelated programs which aim to involve marine guides and visitors, and members of the Belize National Coral Reef Monitoring Network.

For an overview of the programs spearheaded under the Belize Coral Watch Program, and the importance of volunteers, we are pleased to share with you the Belize Coral Watch mini-documentary below!

The Belize Coral Watch Volunteer Program enlists the help of marine guides and visitors.  Coral Watch Volunteers are trained in making objective observations of what they observe on the reef.  They learn the differnce between diseased coral, dead coral and bleaching coral.  They learn about important ecological relationships that exist within the coral reefs.  The training and field experience offered in the Coral Watch program enable volunteers to make learned observations that will provide useful data that can be used to monitor the reefs of Belize over time, in efforts to identify resilient reefs!In 2011 the Belize Coral Watch Program is pleased to announce the launch of a new program that will promote the adoption of your favorite dive or snorkel site through ECOMAR's Adopt A Reef Program.  Sign up today and begin making a difference and become a Coral Watch Volunteer and monitor one reef at a time!

CoralWatch is a non-profit organization built on a research project at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia who has developed an inexpensive, simple, non-invasive method for the monitoring of coral bleaching, and assessment of coral health. The Coral Health Chart is basically a series of sample colors, with variation in brightness representing different stages of bleaching/recovery, based on controlled experiments. It is our aim to both provide a scientific tool and increase awareness about global warming by demonstrating one of its devastating effects.

ECOMAR developed the Belize Coral Watch Program based on the goals and objectives of the Mesoamerican Reef Coral Watch Program.  Additional materials have been developed for marine guides and visitors to quickly learn about coral reefs, the difference between bleaching and disease, and the methods to make educated observations and build to build upon the volunteer network.  Materials developed include Coral ID Cards, Coral Watch Observation Slate, Coral Watch Volunteer Handbook, and a DVD with Coral Watch mini-documentary and Coral Watch Training Module.

The Professional Association of Dive Instructors, PADI, is the largest diver certification organization that certifies more than 75% of scuba divers worldwide.  Their conservation organization, Project Aware, promotes the University of Queensland's CoralWatch Program to all PADI Dive Center and Instructors, thereby reaching a large number of people whose livelihoods depend on a healthy reef.  Locate your nearest PADI Dive Center for more details on the PADI Coral Watch Specialty Course.

PO Box 1234
Belize City, Belize
TEL: + (501) 223-3022
CEL: + (501) 671-3483
Email: linda@ecomarbelize.org