The Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS) at the University of South Florida (USF) was funded by the Oceanography Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to provide an exhaustive worldwide inventory of coral reefs using high-resolution satellite imagery. By using a consistent dataset of high-resolution (30 meter) multispectral Landsat 7 images acquired between 1999 and 2002, USF characterized, mapped and estimated the extent of shallow coral reef ecosystems in the main coral reef provinces (Caribbean-Atlantic, Pacific, Indo-Pacific, Red Sea).
The Protected Areas Working Group (PAWG) of the Pacific Islands Round Table for Nature Conservation recommended a forum to better connect a diverse range of people and their work relating to protected and conserved areas. To increase efficacy with respect to gaining momentum with communications and conservation work, the Pacific Islands Protected Area Portal (PIPAP) was launched.