Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg receiving the prestigious Darwin Medal
Congratulations to Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg on receiving the prestigious Darwin Medal from the International Coral Reef Society, recently awarded at the 16th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS 2026) in Auckland, New Zealand, last week.
The Coral Reef Rescue Project was inspired by Professor Hoegh-Guldberg's landmark 2018 research, known as the 50 Reefs study, which highlighted the need to protect climate-resilient coral reef regions most likely to withstand climate change and support reef recovery worldwide.
This global analysis, led by The University of Queensland and over 20 scientific and conservation partners, identified coral reefs that have substantially lower exposure to climate change stress due to local oceanographic conditions such as currents and upwellings. These less climate-exposed and well-connected reefs have the ability to support the regeneration of coral reefs worldwide and are therefore referred to as climate refuge reefs.
The CRR Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is now in its fourth year, working with governments and local NGOs to protect globally significant climate-resilient coral reefs in six countries: Fiji, Indonesia, Madagascar, The Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Tanzania.
Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg receiving the prestigious Darwin Medal
We extend our sincere congratulations to Professor Hoegh-Guldberg on this well-deserved recognition for his continued dedication to coral reef science and conservation.
Awarded once every four years to a single eminent, late-career Society member, the Darwin Medal recognizes major scientific contributions across a career. Hoegh-Guldberg was unanimously selected by the Society's Honors and Awards Committee for his early projections that ocean warming would intensify mass bleaching and threaten coral reef dominated ecosystems within decades without rapid emissions cuts. Once controversial, these projections have since been supported by increasingly frequent and severe global bleaching events.
Reflecting on the future of coral reefs, Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said:
“What has made me sad is that we are living in a direction where we are ruining reefs. It’s not too late to save reefs, but we have to amp up our engagement with the corals. It could be a thrilling place to be. We have the world’s worst problem, climate change facing these reef systems. However, we have the most advanced technology in the hands of many people to do the research and can help us understand how to manage reefs into the future and thereby protect them from loss while we deal with the climate problem.”
About the Coral Reef Rescue Project
The Coral Reef Rescue Project is a US$7m project funded by the Global Environment Facility to build capacity and solutions that ensure the long-term survival of climate refuge coral reef ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. The project is implemented by the World Wildlife Fund and executed by The University of Queensland in partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society (Fiji, Madagascar, Solomon Islands), Yayasan Reef Check Indonesia, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (The Philippines) and Marine Parks and Reserves Unit (Tanzania).
Free Online Resources for Coral Reef Conservation
Complementing the work in each country, the GEF 7 CRR project has released free online courses on coral reefs. These include Coral Reefs: Introduction to Challenges and Solutions, Coral Reefs: Sustainable Blue Economy, Coral Reefs: Data and Monitoring, Coral Reefs: Climate Resilient Communities. Courses are available in English, Bahasa Indonesian, and French.
Alongside these courses, a new online decision support tool was created: Coral Reef Rescue Portal. This brings together over 70 existing coral reef datasets and resources in one easy-to-use, searchable platform.