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In 2000, the Fiji Islands was at the northern edge of a large pool of unusually warm water, and suffered extensive hard coral death due to coral bleaching. A paper composed of a collection of studies from across the Fiji islands, linking this coral death to elevated sea temperatures at the time, was published (Cummings et al 2000). The difficulty of gathering data from very different sources, and which had been recorded using many different methods, established the need for standardised and regular surveys of representative sites across the Fijian archipelago, in order to measure long-term changes affecting the entire country.

CRISP program is a South Pacific regional initiative, which "aims to develop a vision for the future of [coral reefs] and the communities that depend on them and to introduce strategies and projects to conserve their biodiversity, while developing the economic and environmental services that they provide both locally and globally. Also, it is designed as a factor for integration between developed countries (Australia. New Zealand). French overseas territories and Pacific Island developing countries" (Anonymous) [1]. It takes place in ten country islands, in which Fiji and three French territories in the South Pacific (see map in appendix 1). CRISP was initially designed by the French Development Agency (AFD - Agence francaise de developpement) as part of an inter-ministerial effort beginning in 2002 (Anonymous) [1]. It currently associates many financial, financial and technical, technical and institutional partners

This consolidated report, for the first semester of 2007, comes out one month late because of the programme coordinator participation and involvement in the preparation of the Towns- ville Forum co-organised by Australia and France in September 2007 (see CRISP Enlightnings and CRISP Partnerships chapters further in this report).

The Millennium Assessment for the Ecosystems was another big step towards the development of studies relative to reef economic value. Chapter 2, thus, offers a standard method to assess ecological services and goods provided by ecosystems that will allow the multiplication of this kind of studies (Millennium Ecological Assessment, 2003). At this time, first semester 2008, economic or socio-economic valuation of coral reefs has become a priority issue for many funding agencies and studies are multiplying. Considering the recreational value of the reefs only, 160 studies have been listed by Brander et al. (2007). According to a recent report from the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development and management, only 11 out of the essential 33 relating to goods and services provided by coral reef ecosystems are anterior to 1997. The 1997-2006 period has clearly been more productive in that respect than the previous decade (Blanquet, 2008).

The Rotuma Coral Reef Conservation Project (RCRCP) trip III to carry out the annual survey of Rotuma's coral reef was during from the month of November from the 14th to 22nd in 2006. The diving survey group consisted of four volunteer divers from mainland Fiji and one volunteer diver who lives on the island. All five divers volunteered their time to assist LajeRotuma Initiative (LRI) in its RCRCP activity. Three of the Suva-based divers are employees of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the fourth, a graduate student under the Coral Reef Initiative for the South Pacific (CRISP) programme, from the School of Marine Studies (SMS) at the University of the South Pacific (USP).

All communication activities and materials relating to the CRISP Programme are subject to this Charter. The purpose of this Charter is to set standards, promote uniformity and define target groups for all CRISP Programme communication activities and materials in a collegial spirit and with a concern for effectiveness. The communication and dissemination of programme results are 'products' of the programme, subject to planning (logical frameworks) and assessment (reporting and indicators). The overall consistency of communication is therefore decided on collegially by the Programme partners as required by the target groups and beneficiaries of the Programme, under the responsibility of the Programme Manager.

Both Fiji and French Polynesia presented the pro and con of Larval Recruitment and Research larval identification within their own sites/country and some of the participants asked about the real benefits of restocking. Also, from the discussion, it was noted that there is a real need for more cooperation, for production of outputs, and for comparison of tools. It was noted that French Polynesia has a good expertise on that subject. Participants point out also that information sharing is really needed and useful.

FSPI CCP program has recognized the need of applied research and capacity building to support community based activities. FSPI has been researching the development of low-tech coral reef restoration techniques as a viable management tool for local communities. FSPI, through its affiliates, PCDF and Solomon Island Development Trust, have conducted coral reef restoration trials in conjunction with the Darwin initiative project. The FSPI approach aims to be community based, low- tech, cost and management effective with a strong focus on active interest from communities and participation in awareness raising processes.

The goal of the sub-component 2A is to improve knowledge, monitoring, management capacity and development of the resources of these ecosystems to ensure of the sustainable development of corals. C2A program gathers several institutes from four different countries that are working together within 5 different broad projects and 25 activities. The main technical partners of C2A are Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE) - Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de la Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD) and The University of the South Pacific (USP).