8/24-29 - 20th U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Meeting (Kona)

The 20th meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) will take place from August 24 - 29 in Kona, Hawaii.

On August 24-25, there will be several workshops providing greater opportunity for more in-depth discussion on key issues. Thursday, August 28th is set aside for field trips and other opportunities to see and learn first-hand about on-the-ground marine and coastal conservation issues and strategies.

The official business meeting is scheduled for August 27th and 29th, which will highlight conservation strategies, successes, and challenges in Hawaii. This is an important meeting as it is the final meeting of the USCRTF during the International Year of the Reef and the 10-Year Anniversary of the USCRTF.

Highlights of the green efforts at the Coral Reef Task Force Meeting are:

• Serviceware at the hotel will be biodegradable products
• Coffee mugs for delegates, so as not to use styrofoam and save on ware washing
• Three events scheduled outdoors to reduce air conditioning carbon footprint
• Menus to feature locally grown, organic products to reduce carbon shipping footprint
• Recycling of events trash through Kohala Recycling
• Registrants are given the opportunity to off-set their carbon travel and energy footprint at the resort. This is done through a donation depending on miles traveled or hours consumed. The donations will go to the Kohala Watershed Partnership for a riparian restoration project on Kohala Mountain or to the Tropical Reforestation and Ecosystems Education (TREE) program for a project to propogate rare and endangerd trees on the Kona Coast

If you are interested in registering, contact Lee-Ann Choy, CRTF registrar at Pacific Rim Concepts, LLC at 808-864-9812 or via email. You can also register here.

For more information or to view the week's schedule, go to the Coral Reef Task Force web site.