Coral reefs and associated seagrass and mangrove communities are among the most complex and diverse ecosystems on earth.

They support important fishing and tourism industries, protect coasts from wave and storm damage, build tropical islands, contain an array of potential pharmaceuticals, and

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provide essential services like food security, livelihood, and culture, among other benefits.As shallow-water, near shore communities, coral reef ecosystems are ecologically closely linked to adjacent watersheds and are highly vulnerable to human activity.

Stresses in the coral reef environment include poor water quality from runoff and inadequate sewage treatment, destructive fishing practices, sedimentation, recreational overuse and misuse, and impacts from climate change and ocean acidification.To address these threats, Congress passed the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (Act), which established the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and provided guidance for allocation of Federal funding toward efforts to conserve coral reef ecosystems in the U. S. and Internationally.

As required in the Act, one of the primary functions of the CRCP is to provide matching grants of financial assistance to external partners for coral reef conservation projects consistent with the Act and CRCP priorities.

Current (2010-2015) CRCP priorities are outlined in several documents, including the CRCP National Goals and Objectives 2010-2015 (http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcrcp/ strategy/currentgoals/resources/3threats_go.pdf), the Jurisdictional Management Priority Setting Documents (http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcrcp/strategy/reprioritization/ managementpriorities/), and the International Strategy (http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcrcp/ strategy/currentgoals/resources/intl_strategy.pdf).

These documents are relevant to all CRCP Grant Programs, but some may be more or less relevant to particular applicants.

Please refer to Section B.

Program Priorities of this document for details on which of these documents is/are most applicable for this funding announcement.As required under the Act, NOAA published revised NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program (Grant Program) Implementation Guidelines (Guidelines) on Thursday, August 12, 2010 in Federal Register Vol.

75, No.

155, page 4893 4. The Guidelines are available at:
http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcrcp/workwithus/funding/grants/welcome.html.

All pre- and final applications submitted pursuant to this FFO must be consistent with the requirements stated herein and the Guidelines.

Funding is subject to the availability of Federal appropriations.In FY14, the CRCP intends to initiate new awards in the following funding categories:
1) CRCP Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants; 2) CRCP International Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements; 3) CRCP Fishery Management Council Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements.All of the information in this funding opportunity announcement pertains only to the International Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements funding category.