With support from the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and the Principality of Monaco, the Maldives Marine Research Institute of the Maldives Marine Research Institute Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture is hosting the “Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, South Asia Sea Regional Workshop” from 28th and 29th of January 2020.

This workshop is held at the Conference Hall of the Maldives Customs Building. The workshop was inaugurated by the Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture, Her Excellency Ms Zaha Waheed.

Total of 25 participants is attending to this workshop. This includes seven participants from India, Srilanka, Japan and South Asia Cooperative for Environment and facilitator from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. Seventeen local participants includes participants from government institutions, NGOs and the private sector who conducts coral reef monitoring in the Maldives.

This workshop is one of a series of regional workshops organized by ICRI in preparation of the 2020 GCRMN Global Report on coral reef status and trends that will be launched in August 2020 at Oceans Conference in Palau. A report outlining the global status of coral reefs was last published in 2008, creating a significant gap in our current understanding of the status and trends of the world’s coral reefs.

The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) is an “informal partnership between Nations and organizations which strive to preserve coral reefs and related ecosystems around the world”. Founded in 1994 by eight governments – Australia, France, Japan, Jamaica, the Philippines, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, ICRI has been instrumental in promoting sustainable management of coral reef resources, protecting coral reef ecosystems, and raising awareness on the state of coral reefs worldwide. The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) supports ICRI by working through a global network to provide the best available science on coral reefs and communicating the trends and status of the world’s coral reefs. GCRMN works on preparing and compiling periodic assessments.

The 2020 GCRMN Global Report on Coral Reef Status and Trends would inform Governments on making relevant policies relating to the conservation and sustainable use of coral reefs globally.