Coral reef scientists say it’s not too late to save the world’s coral reefs, if we actually try harder. St. James’s Palace in London will be the venue for an international symposium: ‘Rethinking the Future for Coral Reefs’ on June 6th and 7th 2016.

“We continue to promote measures that simply haven’t worked, and we’re running out of time to save coral reefs” says Dr Carrie Manfrino, Research Director of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute, who has convened the symposium to develop progressive new ideas

“It’s time to move beyond the gloom and doom and look for solutions”, says Professor Terry Hughes, Director, of Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. “But if we continue to ignore the impact of climate change on coral reefs, no amount of local action will make a difference.”

Rather than repeat the simple message that reefs are in bad shape — with over 60% of reefs assessed as under threat from human activity — the Symposium will discuss the conditions, actions and strategies that have led to reefs which have the capacity to survive. The outcome will be to identify the research, funding, and actions that will ensure a future for coral reefs.

The Central Caribbean Marine Institute will host the urgent gathering of a cross-section of the world’s top marine scientists, conservationists and foundations who will debate the urgent need for innovative ideas and action to reverse the critical decline of tropical coral reefs.

CCMI Research Director, Dr Carrie Manfrino wants the symposium to lead to progressive new ideas: “”Large global institutions, government agencies, NGO’s, scientists, and community leaders, need to be asking why we continue to promote measures that don’t seem to be working, and what can we do better.”

The good news is that the CCMI Symposium group will share their knowledge and evidence from numerous examples of corals that demonstrate an ability to recover from seemingly disastrous events like this year’s mass bleaching of corals across the tropics. The cross-section of marine and social scientists at St James’s Palace will examine the bright spots, where coral reefs are still thriving to find out what these areas have in common.

Dr. Terry Hughes, Director, Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University and a pre-eminent scientist will be leading the discussion with a question: Can the world’s reefs be saved?  CCMI’s Dr. Manfrino, is asking the group to rethink the concepts that are being promoted to protect coral reefs that have failed. She suggests that coral reefs have no future unless we understand why some coral reef remain relatively intact today.

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