The general meeting of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) brought together some 80 participants to consider issues concerning coral reef conservation.

A partnership of governments, international organizations, and non-government organizations that strives to preserve coral reefs and related ecosystems by implementing Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 and other relevant international conventions and agreements, ICRI held its general meeting from 3-4 July 2004 in Okinawa, Japan, following the 10th International Coral Reef Symposium.
In addition to hearing reports from the ICRI Secretariat, members and working groups, delegates discussed: regional activities, including regional sustainable tourism and fisheries; engagement with other processes; and emerging issues. On engagement with other international environmental processes, participants received an update of the Barbados+10 small island developing States (SIDS) review process, and heard reports from the CBD Secretariat, the open-ended informal consultative process on oceans and the law of the sea, and the International Coral Reef Symposium. On emerging issues, participants discussed, inter alia, the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries +10 Review, and dredging in coral reef areas. During the two-day meeting, the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) officially released its latest report – Cold-water coral reefs: out of sight – no longer out of mind – on the destruction of the world’s overlooked cold water coral reefs (See Key Publications section). More information on the ICRI meeting is available at: http://www.icriforum.org/router.cfm?show=secretariat/CPC_OKI_July04.html