Meetings Other Relevant Events
The 13th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) will be held at the Hawaii Convention Center 19-24 June 2016. The ICRS, sanctioned by the International Society for Reef Studies, is held every four years, and is the largest international meeting focused on coral reef science and management. The Symposium is expected to bring together 2,500 coral reef scientists, policy makers and managers from 70 nations in a forum for presenting the latest research findings, case histories, management activities and discussions of applying scientific knowledge towards coral reef sustainability.
Coral reefs provide essential ecological, economic and cultural services
to the people of tropical and subtropical islands and coastal
communities worldwide. While scientific knowledge about coral reefs,
their structure, function and responses to stressors has increased
exponentially over the past few decades, the state of reefs globally has
declined during this period, at a comparable rate. To address this
disconnect, a key theme of the 13th ICRS will be “Bridging Science to
Policy,” with specific goals to focus on 1) Improving trust and
communications among scientists, policy makers, managers and
stakeholders; 2) Developing strong partnerships between political
leaders and the scientific community; 3) Guiding efforts and strategies
for effective allocation of limited financial, human and institutional
resources to halt and reverse coral reef decline locally and globally;
and 4) Developing a framework for quantitatively evaluating the
effectiveness of coral reef protection and recovery activities and
initiatives applying the best available science.