Among other things, participants at the General Meeting agreed to refresh the ICRI Call to Action, which will be led by Australia and France, and Australia presented an outline of the work of the upcoming Secretariat, which is to be co-chaired by Australia and Belize.
15 December 2011: The 26th General Meeting of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) adopted resolutions on the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). The Rio+20 resolution encourages ICRI members to support the inclusion of references to the conservation and sustainable management of all coral reefs, in the conference outcome document. The other resolution suspends ICRAN.
At the General Meeting, which was held from 12-15 December 2011, in Réunion, new terms of reference for the Ad Hoc Committee on the Caribbean Regional Response to Lionfish Invasion were adopted. Participants also agreed to extend the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Coral Reef Associated Fisheries, with the same terms of reference. New terms of reference will be developed, to be proposed at the next ICRI General Meeting, for two additional Ad Hoc Committees, on Economic Valuation of Coral Reef Ecosystems, and Enforcement & Investigation.
In addition to ICRAN, other ad hoc committees also were dissolved, as follows: the East Asia Regional Workshop; Coral Disease; Pacific Day; and ITMEMS 4. Participants at the General Meeting also agreed to refresh the ICRI Call to Action, which will be led by Australia and France. This was the third and final General Meeting under the French-Samoan Co-Secretariat. Australia presented an outline of the work of the upcoming Secretariat, which is to be co-chaired by Australia and Belize.
The next ICRI General Meeting will convene in Cairns, Australia, in July 2012, just after the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS). [Resolution on the UNCSD] [Resolution on the International Coral Reef Action Network] [ICRI Webpage on 26th General Meeting]