[Coral-List] Scaling up successful reef management and restoration session at ICRS

[mcfield at healthyreefs.org]

In response to several queries from colleagues looking for our session at ICRS 2020, I offer this reminder for my fellow procrastinators: Deadline is September 15 for abstracts.

Session 12 Conservation and Management

How can successful local reef management and restoration efforts be scaled up to achieve meaningful conservation results? 

Melanie McField1, Lisa Carne2, Anastasia Banaszak3, Nadia Bood4
1 Healthy Reefs Initiative, Smithsonian Institution (Florida, USA)
2 Fragments of Hope (Belize)
3 National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) (MC, Mexico)
4 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) (Belize)

Coral reefs around the world are facing unprecedented levels of stress due to global pressures like climate change and ocean acidification, as well as regional and local stress factors like pollution and overfishing. Significant conservation and management efforts are underway but are struggling match the scale and speed of the widespread potential ecosystem collapse facing reefs. Although there has been much progress in the science of conservation and restoration of coral reefs and, including key ecosystem functions and services, most activities around the globe have not reached ecosystem-scale. There are many reasons for this including lack of financing, human capacity, political will or the required legal framework. This session will therefore invite stakeholders from areas and projects that are on their way towards scaling success or have achieved large-scale successes in coral reef preservation to analyze the enabling conditions that have made the range of their efforts possible as well as the limiting factors or restrictions they had to overcome. The session will follow the main thematic lines of:
- Networking and collaborations, including different actors and across sectors
- Strengthening political will and influencing a beneficial legal environment
- Good governance for reef restoration and conservation
- Securing long-term, sustainable financing for coral reef conservation and restoration
Thus, it will identify best as well as worst practice examples and serve as a platform to foster mutual learning and exchange. The identification of major obstacles to overcome and the needs in communicating coral conservation needs to a broad range of stakeholders will complement the discussions.