4 April 2014: The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) Secretariat has changed hosts from Australia and Belize to Japan and Thailand, where it will remain until March 2016.

The Secretariat will continue its main areas of work, including on implementing the ICRI Continuing Call to Action and the ICRI Framework for Action 2013, both of which were adopted at the 28th General Meeting (GM28) in Belize in October 2013.

ICRI organizes its work under three themes. The Secretariat works to engage multiple sectors in addressing anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs, with the aim of increasing ecological resilience. Second, the Secretariat facilitates discussions on how to plan for and introduce reef zoning, including for biodiversity conservation, fisheries and tourism. The Secretariat also works to maintain and enhance ICRI’s visibility in international fora.

The formal handover occurred during a ceremony at GM28. The new Secretariat contacts are: Makiko Yanagiya and Masako Iwamoto in Japan; and Niphon Phongsuwan and Thamasak Yeemin in Thailand. The Secretariat rotates every two years.

ICRI works to highlight the importance of coral reefs and related ecosystems to environmental sustainability, food security and cultural and social wellbeing. It has over 60 members, including governments, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ramsar Convention Secretariats, nongovernmental organizations, development banks, regional organizations such as the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and international organizations such as the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The next ICRI General Meeting will be held in Japan following the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). [ICRI Website] [Secretariat Information] [Publication: A Continuing Call to Action] [IISD RS Sources]