New Committee Announced for Study on Coral Reef Resilience

February 1, 2018

In January, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine appointed a new committee to conduct a study on interventions to increase the resilience of coral reefs. The provisional committee includes international experts who cover a range of expertise.

Climate change is increasingly threatening coral reefs across the globe, causing mass coral bleaching events and disease outbreaks. A growing body of scientific literature has explored novel ecological and genetic interventions that have the potential to enhance the recovery and persistence of coral reefs threatened by rapidly deteriorating environmental conditions.

Over the next year, the committee will evaluate research of novel intervention strategies and the potential ecological benefits and risks associated with each. Their findings will include a decision-making framework and recommendations on the most promising paths forward, both for further research and implementation.

Public input will play a critical role in this study and efforts to enhance coral resilience. The committee will host four public meetings to solicit input. Scientists, managers and concerned citizens are encouraged to attend and share their opinions, research, observations from field work or other testimony.

To learn more about this study, and for information on the public meetings, please visit the National Academies’ web page on Interventions to Increase the Resilience of Coral Reefs. This study is sponsored by NOAA.

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