CABI Blog

Coral reefs 2  

A public presentation at the Royal Society, with introduction by Sir David Attenborough. Read on to find out the details.

Coral Reefs are said to be the "Rainforests" of the ocean. Reefs are ecologically important ecosystems and have a high biodiversity that serves as a storage bank of rich genetic resources. They are a source of food and medicine, and they protect the coast from wave erosion. 

Coral reefs are directly impacted by the synergistic effects of global warming and ocean acidification and are likely to be placed into a situation of irreversible decline if immediate steps are not taken to reduce CO2 emissions. In December 2009, parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss and hopefully agree to greenhouse gases emission reduction targets. The scientific community has a critical role to play in informing the decision makers involved in the UNFCCC talks about the level of greenhouse gas emissions cuts required to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change and ocean acidification. To highlight the danger of a major collapse of this ecosystem and the action which needs to be taken in Copenhagen, an event was organised by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean, the Royal Society, and the Zoological Society of London. 

The presentation is taking place today (Monday 6th July 2009) from 3.30 to 5 pm and will be delivered by Professor J.E.N. Veron, a former scientist from the Australian Institute of Marine Science and widely regarded as the world’s leading authority on coral reef ecosystems. He has extensively researched the highly synergistic threats posed to coral reef ecosystems by global warming and ocean acidification. Professor Veron will summarise these threats and the action he believes is essential at Copenhagen this December.

The introduction
to the presentation will be given by Sir David Attenborough, and therefore
should be well attended. I will be attending the presentation, in my capacity
as co-editor of Cabi’s Environmental Impact database.

Venue: The Royal
Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London,
SW1. (link to map)

Seats can be reserved by contacting aylin.mcnamara@zsl.org.
Doors open 20 minutes before the presentation starts.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

 

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