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The creation of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) marked a pivotal moment in global conservation efforts for coral reefs and their associated ecosystems. During the remarks from Tim Worth (Under Secretary of State, U.S Department of State, 1994) at the First Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), on December 7th 1994, it was stated that “Coral reefs serve as natural indicators of the health of coastal zones, have been cited as possible indicators of climate change, and are valued contributors to economies the world over through their contributions to recreation and tourism. Indeed, their biological and economic richness has led many to observe that coral reefs are the rainforests of the ocean.” And in response to pressures placed on coral reefs and prompted by concerns for their future, the International Coral Reef Initiative was established by eight founding Nations – Australia, France, Jamaica, Japan, the Philippines, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
The first “ICRI Call to Action” was approved at the ICRI Workshop held in Dumaguete City, The Philippines (on June 2, 1995) and is supported by the “ICRI Framework for Action” to mobilise governments and the wide range of other stakeholders to implement the Call to Action. The 4 elements of the ICRI Call to Action are:
At the occasion of the first ‘International Tropical Marine Ecosystems management Symposium (ITMEMS), hosted by ICRI in 1998, over 300 delegates from 49 Nations endorsed the contents and message of a “Renewed Call to Action”. The adopted document represented a new global call to action, reflecting the urgency, and need, for action as the world continued to face a decline in the health of coral reefs.
At the 28th ICRI General Meeting in Belize City in 2013, ICRI members adopted the “Continuing Call to Action” and its associated “Framework for Action 2013”. These new documents presented a guide for the ICRI Secretariat and ICRI members to address the continuing and emerging challenges facing the sustainable use of coral reefs and related ecosystems.
Today, ICRI remains a critical mechanism of science to policy, ensuring that policy is guided by the best available science, and is a major player in the global effort to safeguard coral reefs, by advocating for policies that prioritise their protection and resilience in the face of ongoing threats.
ICRI Members include a mix of governments, non-governmental organisations, and international organisations as well as Philanthropic organisations and the private industry. ICRI counts 45 countries covering 75% of the world’s coral reefs.
Map of ICRI’s 45 country members including ICRI’s 8 founding countries
The GCRMN has published an extensive range of global, regional, and thematic reports on coral reef status and trends. The GCRMN collates and presents coral reef data, aggregating from national to regional levels, and then to a global level. The flagship product of the GCRMN is the Status of Coral Reefs of the World report that describes the status and trends of coral reefs worldwide. The sixth and latest edition was published in 2021, presenting the status and trends of coral reefs on a global scale from 1978 – 2019 and covers:
To improve the understanding of coral reef status and trends, globally and regionally
To analyse and communicate coral reef biophysical, social, and economic trends, providing science-based recommendations in support of raising awareness, management and policy development
To Enable and facilitate greater utilisation of coral reef data including research
To build human and technical capacity to collect, analyse and report biophysical and socio-economic data on coral reefs
The GCRMN is a critical mechanism of ICRI, and the wider global coral reef community, and serves to support Nations in the implementation of the national, regional and international commitments including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in December 2022. GCRMN is hosted by the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS).
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