15 Jul CTC travels to Hawaii for the 13th International Coral Reef Symposium

The Coral Triangle Center (CTC) and 2,500 coral reef scientists, policy makers and managers shared their ideas on marine conservation and research findings on how to achieve coral reef sustainability at the 13^th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) in Honolulu, Hawaii.

CTC’s Executive Director Rili Djohani with Deputy Executive Director Johannes Subijanto, and Learning Sites Manager Marthen Welly, traveled to Honolulu to present on, Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) Women Leaders Forum, capacity building within the Coral Triangle region, providing ideas for proper coastal and marine conservation and management in marine protected areas.

Ibu Rili spoke about CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum, and explored possible future collaboration between the East-West Center Honolulu and CTC to raise women’s capacity and leadership in the Coral Triangle Region.

The ICRS 2016 theme was “Bridging Science to Policy.” The Symposium aimed to connect and equip all stakeholders, the scientific community and local governments with the tools to build trust and tackle environmental issues together. It also provided a platform for global knowledge about coral reefs, conservation strategies and showcasing successful management plans for conservation.

“Bridging Science to Policy” is exceedingly important, especially with the current environmental stressors on coral reefs such as coral bleaching. Coral bleaching plagues the world’s ecosystems and threatens to kill scores of marine habitats.

Coral reefs provide economic and social benefits to communities around the globe. However, coral reef conservation is severely underfunded. At ICRS, participants stressed the importance of the coral reef ecosystems, concluding that more funds and support from policy makers are essential for the protection and future of our reefs.