Session: S-179
Novel approaches to the conservation and management of coral reefs under climate change

The outlook for coral reefs under increasing local and global threats is one of continual decline. Recent record temperatures and mass coral bleaching events signal that even intensive conventional management will not make coral reefs immune to future heat-waves. While decisive carbon mitigation and conventional management are essential parts of a solution, additional interventions are now also needed in natural resource management and... [ view more ]

The outlook for coral reefs under increasing local and global threats is one of continual decline. Recent record temperatures and mass coral bleaching events signal that even intensive conventional management will not make coral reefs immune to future heat-waves. While decisive carbon mitigation and conventional management are essential parts of a solution, additional interventions are now also needed in natural resource management and conservation planning to build climate resilience, even under best-case emission scenarios. This symposium will bring cutting-edge thinking around novel interventions for the conservation and management of coral reefs in the Anthropocene. We will have presentations from biologists, social scientists and economists, practitioners and policy-makers. The speakers will outline prospective biological approaches to support the recovery of reef habitat and enhance the climate adaptation of reef corals. The speakers will then explore bottlenecks in the coral life history, adaptive capacity and symbiosis and tackle difficult topics such as the potential role for genetic engineering in conservation. The symposium will finish with an exploration of how reef values for society and economies can be sustained and the potential trade-offs we might have to make under severe climate change. These presentations will set the scene for the panel discussion that will explore the costs, risks and benefits of novel interventions on coral reefs.