The 38th General Meeting (GM), took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 10th – 13th September 2024, and was hosted by the General Organization for Conservation of Coral Reefs and Turtles in the Red Sea (SHAMS). It marked the first ICRI GM to be held in the Middle East region.
Up to 80 participants, from 36 ICRI Members, including 16 member countries attended the GM in-person (who were joined by 10 online participants) bringing together governments, policymakers and leading experts, for rich discussion on the implementation of the “2021 – 2024 Plan of Action: Turning the Tide for Coral Reefs”, the achievements of the Initiative and its membership, and the future direction of ICRI in striving for the conservation, restoration and protection of the world’s coral reefs.
Among the discussion, the occasion of the GM resulted in significant outcomes, including:
- A resolution for the Red Sea Region was adopted (Annex 3), developed from the conclusions of “The Red Sea Region – A climate refuge for coral reefs” forum.
- Two new ad hoc committees (AHC) were established:
- An ICRI Youth AHC for the development of an ICRI Youth strategy (the adopted Terms
of Reference are available in Annex 4) - An AHC for the development of a motion to the IUCN World Conservation Congress (the
adopted Terms of Reference are available in Annex 5)
- An ICRI Youth AHC for the development of an ICRI Youth strategy (the adopted Terms
- The welcoming of ICRI’s 102nd member – Rare. Rare is a global non-profit environmental
organisation whose mission is to inspire change, so people and nature thrive. - The ICRI membership welcomed “Saudi Arabia” as the next chair of the Initiative, with the Initiative being hosted by the General Organisation for the Conservation of Coral Reefs and Sea Turtles in the Red Sea (SHAMS).
The GM was coupled with the convening of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network’s (GCRMN) Steering Committee meeting (8th September 2024), and “The Red Sea Region – A climate refuge for coral reefs” forum (9th September 2024).