International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), Honolulu, Hawaii, 19. – 24. Juni
Many of ZMT ‘s researchers are currently attending the 13th International Coral Reef Symposium in Honolulu (Hawaii). With more than 2.500 participants the conference is one of the most important for coral reef scientists worldwide.
On the first day I went to an invitation-only consultation workshops on “Marine conservation priorities in the Coral Triangle (CT)”, which was organised by Helen Fox, on behalf of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the EU.
The workshop attendees were to comment on a draft Coral Triangle (CT) strategy document, which will feed into the European Commission’s process to develop their “strategic approach to biodiversity conservation” in Asia. In this meeting the WCS presented a draft marine report highlighting on-going conservation efforts in the CT region and opportunities to build on successes and lessons learned, based on key documents and expert interviews. As Helen Fox said in her invitation: “This consultation workshop will be important in order to make sure CT government and partner organizations’ views are properly incorporated into the report. As we recommend promising approaches moving forward, the intention of the report is to consult broadly with the conservation community experts and key government and non-government organizations.”
It was a highly interesting workshop for us, and Indonesia was also strongly represented – amongst others by our SPICE project colleague Mohammad Lukman, who is now the Coral Triangle Initiative’s coordinator of Coastal Food Fisheries Programmes.
After two main presentations and subsequent group discussions on the different thematic, regional, natural and social scientific priorities, Helen Fox will now include the discussion points and comments into the CT strategy document and prepare and further develop the next version. In October the final report will be handed to the EU.
Annette Breckwoldt, WG Social-Ecological Systems Analysisa
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