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SOLUTIONS #FORCORAL
Impactful initiatives

for saving the coral reefs

The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) brought together the coral reef
community to showcase solutions to help deliver the Coral Reef Breakthrough.

This working session held on 19 March 2024 at Olivier Wenden, Vice-President and CEO of the
Monaco Yacht Club brought together around a Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, following the
hundred participants eager to deliver the Coral Reef screening of a video featuring ICRI experts discussing
Breakthrough, a global convening mechanism to the topic, ‘What if coral reefs disappeared by 2050?’.
save coral reefs. Innovators, scientists, investors and
private sector stakeholders took part in the event “In the context of the current climate and biodiversity
hosted by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) crisis, we very much hope that this call to action will
in partnership with the Global Coral Reef Fund, the help state and non-state stakeholders achieve the
Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform global targets and develop ambitious action plans
(CORDAP), the Ocean & Climate Platform and the and financial investments to secure the future of coral
Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. reefs,” said Francis Staub, ICRI Global Coordinator,
during his talk on the Coral Reef Breakthrough. The
Breakthrough is a clear example of the ongoing efforts
A NARROW WINDOW of ICRI, which has strived to protect coral reefs since
FOR ACTION it was founded in 1994. “2024 marks an important
year for the Initiative, which boasts 101 members
Over the past 15 years, the world has lost 14% of today,” noted Francis Staub. Stopping the drivers of
the coral on its reefs. Corals are integral to sustaining loss, accelerating restoration, expanding the area of
the planet’s vast interconnected network of marine coral reefs under effective management and bridging
biodiversity. Given the ever-increasing pressures of the funding gap are the four global targets of this vital
climate change and many human-driven threats, the initiative and which the event was organised around.
window for protecting these vital ecosystems is rapidly The targets go beyond the Kunming-Montreal Global
closing. As we approach the fourth global coral reef Biodiversity Framework and help countries implement
bleaching event, “We must step up resources and their national and international commitments.
actions to halt local and global drivers of decline, as
well as implement cost-effective solutions to enable
the survival and recovery of resilient coral reefs on a
global scale and support local communities”, stated