Building Coral Reefs - A Decadal Grand Challenge

ICRS Science to Policy Paper 2021

This document is the work of a team assembled by the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS). The mission of ICRS is to promote the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge to secure the future of coral reefs, including via relevant policy frameworks and decision-making processes. This document seeks to highlight the urgency of taking action to conserve and restore reefs through protection and management measures, to provide a summary of the most relevant and recent natural and social science that provides guidance on these tasks, and to highlight implications of these findings for the numerous discussions and negotiations taking place at the global level.

This report was supported by the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS), German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), Future Earth Coasts (FEC), Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Kellner & Stoll Foundation for Climate and Environment

Keywords: coral reefs, International Coral Reef Society, ICRS, policy brief, policy document, reefs, global, future earth coasts, FEC, climate change, biodiversity, sustainable development