Meetings Side Events
The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). Over 25% of ICRI members are representatives from SIDS (Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Grenada, Jamaica, Maldives, New Caledonia, Palau, Samoa, Seychelles).
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat, Government of Belize, The Commonwealth Secretariat, The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
Download the latest concept note here (.pdf)
Wednesday 29th May 2024 | 12:00 – 13:30 pm | Room 5 | The American University of Antigua, College of Medicine, University Park, Jabberwock Beach Road, Coolidge, Antigua.
Should you have any questions or need more information, do not hesitate to contact the ICRI Secretariat
Wednesday 29th May 2024
Agenda
Moderator: Kristian Teleki, Fauna & Flora
Welcoming Remarks
U.S. Department of State
Video: What if coral reefs disappear?
Three Decades of championing coral reefs for SIDS
Margaux Monfared, ICRI Secretariat
People and Reefs
The Pacific
Sefanaia Nawadra, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
The Caribbean
Christopher Corbin, The Cartagena Convention Secretariat
Preserving coral reefs for people
Belize Blue Bonds: Investing in coral reefs
Beverly Wade, Government of Belize
GFCR Case Studies
Leticia Carvalho, GFCR Executive Board co-chair and United Nations Environment Programme
Commonwealth Case Studies
Nicholas Hardman-Mountford, The Commonwealth Secretariat
Protecting our reefs, Sustaining our Islands
Adnan Awad, United Nations Development Programme
Closing Remarks
Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean
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.
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.
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.
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.