Ocean Health, Human Wealth: The Importance of Coral Reefs – SIDS4

Wednesday 29th May 2024

Agenda

Moderator: Kristian Teleki, Fauna & Flora

Welcoming Remarks

Nicole R. LeBoeuf, Assistant Administrator of NOAA’s National Ocean Service

Video: What if coral reefs disappear?

Three Decades of championing coral reefs for SIDS (.pdf)

Margaux Monfared, ICRI Secretariat

 

People and Reefs

The Pacific (.pdf)

Sefanaia Nawadra, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

The Caribbean (.pdf)

Christopher Corbin, The Cartagena Convention Secretariat

 

Preserving coral reefs for people

GFCR Case Studies

Leticia Carvalho, GFCR Executive Board co-chair and United Nations Environment Programme

The Commonwealth Blue Charter: Collaboration towards protection and restoration of coral reefs (.pdf)

Nicholas Hardman-Mountford, The Commonwealth Secretariat

Protecting our reefs, Sustaining our Islands (.pdf)

Adnan Awad, United Nations Development Programme

Closing Remarks

Ambassador Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean

Moderator

Kristian Teleki
Chief Executive Officer, Fauna & Flora

Kristian spent the last two decades working with both community leaders and at the highest levels of policy, science, environment, sustainability and development and business, as well as building and leading innovative partnerships, and initiatives to improve the state of our planet. Most recently, in addition to his role as the global director of the Ocean Programme at the World Resources Institute, Kristian led the Ocean Action Agenda and Friends of Ocean Action for the World Economic Forum, and headed the Secretariat of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy with 17 serving heads of state and government. Kristian serves on the boards of a number of environmental, development and social initiatives, and has degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Cambridge University. In July 2023 Kristian became the CEO of Fauna & Flora – an international conservation charity and non-governmental organisation dedicated to protecting the planet’s threatened wildlife and habitats.

In order of Agenda

Nicole R. LeBoeuf
Assistant Administrator of NOAA’s National Ocean Service

As the Assistant Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service (NOS), Nicole oversees strategy and operations for America’s premiere coastal and ocean agency. NOS provides science-based solutions to address economic, environmental, and social pressures on our ocean, coasts, and coastal communities — including pressures brought on by climate change. She also serves as the U.S. Representative to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission where she advances the application of ocean and coastal observations in understanding and preparing for climate change and promoting U.S. best practices in ocean science for sustainable development and climate adaptation.

Additionally, Nicole is the United States Coral Reef Task Force co-chair.  In this role, she leads representatives from 14 federal agencies, seven U.S. coral jurisdictions: Florida, Commonwealth of  Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaiꞌi, American Samoa, Guam, and Commonwealth of the Mariana  Islands, the three Freely Associated States of Micronesia: Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia,  and the Marshall Islands, and four regional Fishery Management Councils to coordinate and strengthen Federal Government actions to better preserve, conserve, and restore coral reef ecosystems.

Margaux Monfared
International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) Secretariat

Margaux has experience in managing and organising marine conservation projects in diverse reef environments around the world, including Honduras, Cambodia, and the Maldives. Her experience focused on increasing coral reef resilience to climate change. Margaux’s most recent research focused on the reproductive patterns of Acropora in the Maldives, as well as coupling asexual propagation methodologies with the use of coral larvae for restoration. Margaux joined the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) Secretariat in May 2023 and supports ICRI’s members in the implementation of the Plan of Action 2021 – 2024: Turning the Tide for Coral Reefs.

Sefanaia Nawadra
Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)

Mr Sefanaia Nawadra is the Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) since 2022 and prior to joining SPREP he served as the Head of the Pacific Sub-regional Office for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2015.

Mr Nawadra has worked within the Environment Sector in the Pacific Islands for over 30 years and has worked for SPREP for 10 years, from 1999 to 2006 as the Marine Pollution Adviser and as the Director of the Environmental Monitoring and Governance Division. Mr Nawadra has also held a number of senior technical positions within the Fiji Government’s Environment and Agriculture Departments. He also worked as the Director of Conservation International’s Fiji Country Programme.

Mr Nawadra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Canberra and a Masters of Environmental Management from the Imperial College, University of London.

Christopher Corbin
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Cartagena Convention Secretariat

Mr. Christopher Corbin is the Coordinator of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Cartagena Convention Secretariat based in Kingston, Jamaica. He assumed these duties as of 2022.  Chris has been with UNEP since 2004 and prior to assuming the role of Coordinator, was the Programme Manager for its Marine Pollution Programme.

Chris facilitated the development of and co-authored the region’s first Regional Marine Litter Action Plan and Regional Marine Litter Strategy as well as the first State of Convention Area Report on Marine Pollution.

Mr Corbin, a Saint Lucian national, has over 30 years of national and regional programme and project management experience and has been involved in several intergovernmental processes and discussions for improving ocean governance, marine pollution, and water resources management in the Wider Caribbean Region. He has also organized and provided Secretariat support to Intergovernmental meetings of Contracting Parties to the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols.

Prior to joining UNEP, Chris represented the Government of Saint Lucia in regional and international negotiations including on oceans, marine pollution, and sustainable development of Small Island Developing States.

Leticia Carvalho
Head of the Marine and Freshwater Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme

Ms. Leticia Carvalho is the Head of the Marine and Freshwater Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme. During her tenure at UNEP, she has participated in history-making plastic pollution policy-making, and is currently leading the mainstreaming of ocean and freshwater ecosystem-based management into relevant global and regional governance arrangements, and spearheading ocean literacy and advocacy across UNEP and its Member States. Ms. Carvalho has served as lead negotiator for several multilateral agreements including International Maritime Organisation Conventions, UN Convention on Law of the Seas, the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management, the Minamata Convention on Mercury and chemicals and waste conventions. She has served as the Director of Environmental Quality at Industry in the Ministry of the Environment of Brazil, responsible for chemicals and air quality. Ms. Carvalho has published nationally and internationally on issues relating to chemicals management, air emissions, fisheries, Brazil’s marine and coastal policies and environmental international law. She is an oceanographer and holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development from University of Brasília.

Nicholas Hardman-Mountford
The Commonwealth Secretariat

Nicholas is an experienced strategic leader working at the interface of ocean and energy governance and international diplomacy. He heads up a technical advisory team delivering the Commonwealth Blue Charter, Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transition Agenda and technical assistance programmes on ocean governance and natural resources reform in Commonwealth countries.

Previously, Nick has held positions as Principal Scientist at Australia’s national research agency, CSIRO; Director of the UK Centre of Excellence on Air-Sea Interactions and Fluxes, and Board member of the UK National Centre for Earth Observation. He has 25 years research experience and has published extensively addressing societal drivers such as climate change, carbon management, conservation, energy and food security. He is a Fellow of the Marine Biological Association of the UK; Adjunct Professor at University of Western Australia, and holds a number of other advisory roles.

Adnan Awad
United Nations Development Programme

Adnan has been working in the field of ocean affairs and conservation for international organizations over the past 24 years, and joined UNDP in 2023. His career has focused on strengthening international and regional ocean governance frameworks, improving technical support for policy reform and practical applications for capacity development initiatives. He has experience addressing various emerging challenges related to the marine environment, such as environmental impacts of maritime transport, the protection of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, and the development of sustainable financing in support of the 2030 oceans agenda.

Adnan was born in Seattle and attended the University of Washington where he studied marine biology as an undergraduate. He has a MSc in Conservation Biology and a PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Cape Town. Adnan is currently based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Ambassador Peter Thomson
United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean

Ambassador Peter Thomson was appointed the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean in 2017 and the first person to be appointed to this position, aiming at galvanizing concerted efforts to follow up on the outcomes of the 2017 United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference, maintaining the momentum for action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean’s resources. He held the office of President of the General Assembly of the United Nations from September 2016 until September 2017. He was Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the UN from February 2010 to September 2016. As a Government of Fiji civil servant, he devoted many years of his life to working in the fields of rural development and then foreign affairs.