• Healthy coral reef in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Courtesy of NOAA.

    • Case Study

    Pollution and Coral Health in the Virgin Islands

    Coral communities are under pressure from land-based pollutants and sediments. Now, coastal managers now can access an effective tool to correlate human land-use activity with coral reef condition. Resource managers can use this information to increase resilience for corals—and the people who depend on them.

    Year
    2021

    Details

    Hazards
    Water Quality
    Assets
    Aquatic and Marine Resources
    Sources
    EPA Gulf Ecology Division NOAA Office for Costal Management Digital Coast
    Read the Full Case Study

    Tools & Data

    Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) Land Cover Atlas

    Additional Resources

    Oliver LM, et al, (2011) Marine Ecology Progress Series 427: 293–302, 2011
    Stony Coral Rapid Bio-Assessment Protocol
    NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP)

    Organizations

    EPA Gulf Ecology Division
    NOAA Office for Costal Management Digital Coast

    Relevant Options

    Create or update a community water plan to accommodate variability in well water quality. Create a targeted public education program about watersheds and shared responsibility. Develop an education campaign to keep plastic out of waterways and lagoons.

    Steps to Resilience

    Get Started
    Understand Exposure
    Assess Vulnerability & Risk
    Investigate Options
    Prioritize & Plan
    Take Action
    Browse all case studies