The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) was established by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) in 1994, initially with the primary task of reporting on the condition of the world’s coral reefs in the context of the development of the ICRI ‘Call to Action’. Since then GRCMN has consolidated an operational global network of researchers to provide the best available scientific on the health of coral reef ecosystems, for their conservation and management, to produce a range of global, regional and thematic reports on coral reef status and trends. The GCRMN Regional Networks are the primary structures within the GCRMN, and bring together national networks, relevant institutions, and ad hoc contributors of data. 

The Caribbean node of the GCRMN (GCRMN-Caribbean) is a growing network of more than 250 coral experts and practitioners in the Caribbean Region. It aims to ensure the collection of useful, comparable and accessible data that can reveal the status and trends of the coral reefs in the Wider Caribbean Region, to promote an integrated approach with socioeconomic data, and to create a regular, robust and strategic reporting to influence coastal management decision-making at the regional level, and guide management at the local level.