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Date: 9 August 2012
Over 2,000 scientists, managers, students and journalists from 82 different countries attended the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), which was held between 9th and 13th July 2012 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
This important conference is held every 4 years to bring together various stakeholders involved at the international level in the protection of coral reefs. Delegates at the symposium highlighted the plight of coral reefs around the world: coral reefs are threatened by global climate change impacts such as sea level rise, as well as human impacts such as sedimentation, pollution, habitat destruction and overfishing. Approximately 25-30% of coral reefs are already severely degraded. The opening keynote presentation at the ICRS conference called for bold action to save the world’s coral reefs for the millions of people who depend on them.
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Rodrigues is a semi-autonomous region within the Republic of Mauritius, situated within the Mascarene Archipelago, a recognized global biodiversity hotspot. The island is of volcanic origin and is fringed by an extensive reef, with a wide shallow lagoon covering an area of 240 square kilometers. Intensive fishing pressure in the lagoon has resulted in drastic declines of both finfish and invertebrate landings and degradation of lagoon habitats. In recognition of the importance of these marine resources, the Rodrigues Regional Assembly (RRA) gazetted a number of new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), a policy decision resulting in part from the efforts of a previous GEF SGP project to improve the management of the lagoon’s living marine resources. The newly established MPAs include four marine reserves in the North, which were selected by local communities with the support of Shoals Rodrigues and GEF SGP. In addition, a larger multiple-use MPA in the South was also established, with support from a UNDP-GEF project.
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Mr. Raffin described as one of the results of the project, the wide recognition generated in Rodrigues that the effectiveness of marine protected areas, such as the northern Marine Reserves of Rodrigues, can be improved when local marine resource users are more involved in management planning processes. While public participation is usually addressed just through consultations, this project involved local communities in the implementation of the reserves by empowering local stakeholders to actually write the management plan for these four northern reserves. Mr. Raffin emphasized that the plan was developed through a series of training workshops, extensive community consultations and a 2-month public consultation period, all of which have ensured that the interests of local marine resource users will be taken into consideration in the final draft of the management plan.
It is believed that this management plan for the northern Marine Reserves is the first plan in the region that has been written by local marine resource users. Participation at the ICRS 2012 therefore presented Shoals Rodrigues with a unique opportunity to showcase these efforts to protect the marine environment in Rodrigues at an international platform. It also gave Mr. Raffin the opportunity to learn about current research methods being developed in other parts of the world to discuss new ideas and to form future collaborations that will help to improve Shoals Rodrigues’ continuing efforts to protect the marine environment in Rodrigues. Mr. Raffin received support from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation to attend the ICRS 2012 conference.
Background for editors
About the GEF
The GEF unites 182 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF is the largest public funder of projects to improve the global environment. An independently operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants.
Since 1991, GEF has achieved a strong track record with developing countries and countries with economies in transition, providing $10 billion in grants and leveraging $47 billion in co-financing for over 2,800 projects in over 168 countries. For more information, visit www.thegef.org.
About the GEF Small Grants Programme
Launched in 1992, GEF SGP supports activities of nongovernmental and community-based organizations in developing countries towards climate change abatement, conservation of biodiversity, protection of international waters, reduction of the impact of persistent organic pollutants and prevention of land degradation while generating sustainable livelihoods.
Since its creation, GEF SGP has provided over 14,500 grants to communities in over 125 developing countries. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as a corporate programme, GEF SGP is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the GEF partnership, and is executed by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
Media contacts:
- Tamara Tschentscher, KM and Communications Consultant, GEF SGP, tamara.tschentscher@undp.org, 646-781-4353
- John Diamond, Senior Communication Officer& Spokesperson, GEF, jdiamond@TheGEF.org, (202) 458-7953