Thank you to our fellow ICRI members who worked so hard to organize this event.
I am thrilled we are working together – in person and virtually – to bring the ICRI recommendations into the negotiations in Geneva.
The work you do is inspiring, and our collective efforts are so important to protect coral reefs in the face of ever-increasing threats.
Since the end of 2018, ICRI has engaged in the Post-2020 process, working to integrate coral reefs into the Global Biodiversity Framework and its monitoring framework. Thank you to Emily Corcoran for her tireless efforts, and to Vulcan for their continuing and essential support.
The United States strongly supports these efforts to ensure the Framework reflects the need to conserve, protect, and restore coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems.
It is so important that we facilitate dialogue around the conservation of coral reefs. Given the vulnerability of the fragile ecosystems, we need to ensure that the Global Biodiversity Framework prioritizes coral reef conservation and restoration. Existing coral reef indicators must be included in our monitoring frameworks.
The United States is committed to protecting and restoring coral reefs in the face of ever-increasing threats and prioritizing the vulnerable ecosystems we depend on and the life – and the livelihoods – they support.
In the United States, we are working hard to implement President Biden’s directive to conserve at least 30 percent of our land and waters by 2030. We also fully support conserving or protecting at least 30 percent of the global ocean by 2030.
The United States is committed to reversing the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, with all the tools, assets, and commitment we can assemble.
I want to reiterate the United States’ unwavering commitment to working with all like-minded partners to secure an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework. There is so much work to do and we have no time to lose. We must do this now.
Thank you for your dedication, your hard work, and persistence. Together, we can turn the tide for coral reefs and for all of nature.