Ecosystem-based management of coral reefs from afar – A guide for remote scientists and remote places

Modern-day coral reef conservation requires connections between researchers, decision-makers and stakeholders to achieve holistic ecosystem-based management (EBM), rooted in and supported by local communities. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, global political and financial instability and growing concerns over emissions from air travel have meant that face-to-face meetings and in-person fieldwork are increasingly difficult for many researchers at distant institutions. In this paper we discuss how to achieve EBM remotely, using a combination of freely available online data, remote fieldwork techniques and virtual communication and engagement tools. We highlight resources that have been useful in our work for components of overseas EBM and discuss lessons learned from those experiences.