by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Apr 13, 2026 | Past Webinars, Webinars
This webinar originally aired on Thursday, April 16, 2026. Presented by: Kostas Topouzelis of Scidrones. Description: Marine litter is a significant environmental problem that can dramatically affect flora and fauna and have severe economic impacts on coastal communities, tourism, and fisheries. Currently, most mapping protocols for marine litter in the coastal environment rely on conventional on-site sampling, with limited ability to spatially display concentrations of coastal zone marine waste. To provide real-time, actionable data, Scidrones has created the Coastal Marine Litter Observatory (CMLO), an online platform that detects, maps, and monitors marine litter in the coastal zone using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and machine learning. UAS aerial images – collected using the Scidrones data acquisition protocol and uploaded to the CMLO platform – provide wide area coverage of actual litter, and machine learning algorithms are used to detect marine litter and categorize it (i.e., plastic, paper, metal, cloth, glass and ceramic, rubber, and wood). Marine debris in the coastal zone is then visualized through high-resolution density maps and spatiotemporal analytics, enabling scalable, operational monitoring and empowering stakeholders to take precise, data-driven action for cleaner beaches and coastlines. A free trial covering 1 km of coastline is available, allowing users to test and explore the platform’s capabilities.
by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Apr 13, 2026 | Upcoming Webinars, Webinars
Thursday, June 4, at Noon US EDT/9 am US PDT/4 pm UTC. Presented by: Nik Strong-Cvetich and Diego Sancho-Gallegos of the Save The Waves Coalition. Description: Surf ecosystems – the land-to-sea interface that creates the conditions for breaking, rideable waves for surfing, and the flora, fauna, and human communities that depend on them – generate enormous economic and cultural value for coastal communities, yet they remain largely unrecognized as natural assets in coastal policy and planning. This webinar introduces Surfonomics – a methodology that quantifies the economic value derived from surfing in coastal communities – and illustrates how reframing a surf break as a natural asset can support coastal conservation. Drawing on Save The Waves Coalition’s work around the world, presenters will trace the evolution from economic valuation of surf breaks to include climate vulnerability assessments and the design of financial tools that can sustain surf-dependent economies under a changing climate. The featured case study focuses on Oriente Salvaje World Surfing Reserve in El Salvador, where the Save The Waves Coalition and partners are developing a parametric insurance pilot to protect surf ecosystems and the coastal communities that depend on them – the first of its kind. Attendees will come away with an understanding of natural resource valuation and its role in supporting conservation and the livelihoods that rely on the sustainable use of these resources.
by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Apr 7, 2026 | Past Webinars, Webinars
This webinar originally aired on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Presented by: Angela Fletcher and Glen Delaney of Earth Economics. Description: Marine and coastal ecosystems provide many ecosystem services that are essential to human communities, including food, recreational opportunities, and protection of infrastructure from natural disasters. These benefits are not often framed in economic terms, which can lead to them being overlooked in decision-making. Communicating ecosystem services in economic terms can support more holistic decision-making that accounts for the full range of benefits these systems provide. In this webinar, Angela Fletcher and Glen Delaney of Earth Economics will introduce the fundamentals of ecosystem service valuation and demonstrate how they have applied these methods in marine and coastal contexts. Earth Economics is a nonprofit economic consultancy with 26 years of experience applying valuation techniques in decision-making, policy, and project implementation. They will begin with a brief overview of ecosystem services and valuation basics, then walk through three real-world case studies that illustrate how valuation can inform conservation, restoration, and policy decisions: a valuation study of kelp forests along the California coast; the use of valuation to inform a National Marine Sanctuary application for the St. George Unangan Heritage site; and how valuation can support funding for salmon habitat restoration in the Duckabush Estuary in Washington State.
by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Mar 25, 2026 | Past Webinars, Webinars
This webinar originally aired on hursday, March 26, 2026. Presented by: Beth Pike, Jessica MacCarthy, and Nikki Harasta of the Marine Conservation Institute. Description: Where does the “3% of MPAs are effective” statistic come from? Would your work benefit from being able to see the number of fully and highly protected MPAs in different countries? Do you wish there was a platform for viewing High Seas MPAs? Maybe you want to see how many MPAs are protected from anchoring and aquaculture in addition to fishing, or maybe you want to view global MPAs by size class. Do you want to download the list of countries and the amount of EEZ that is fully or highly protected? Or do you want that list aggregated by sovereignty? The Marine Protection Atlas (MPAtlas) website has been tracking MPA effectiveness since 2012, but many folks do not know that it can do all this and more! Join this webinar to learn how to leverage this open access downloadable data for your conservation needs.
by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Mar 18, 2026 | Past Webinars, Webinars
This webinar originally aired on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Presented by: Vanessa Stelzenmüller of Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries. Description: Achieving both conservation and green energy goals demands new approaches that more effectively align marine spatial planning (MSP) with systematic conservation planning. As a forward-looking, integrative process, MSP is uniquely positioned to help deliver sustainable marine futures, especially when grounded in strong ecosystem considerations. Implementing an ecosystem-based approach to MSP (EB-MSP) is therefore essential. This webinar will present a stakeholder-informed Decision Support System (DSS) for EB-MSP developed through the Horizon Europe project MarinePlan (www.marineplan.eu). The DSS offers practical guidance for aligning MSP processes with spatial conservation and restoration priorities. This webinar will introduce core components, including the use of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) as a central driver of conservation planning, as well as standardized guidance for defining planning scenarios aimed at meeting global conservation targets protecting 30% of marine areas, with 10% under strict protection by 2030. Finally, the webinar will compare developed planning scenarios with current MSP practices and discuss key insights. Challenges, opportunities, and areas for improvement within existing governance processes to support more effective implementation of EB-MSP will all be highlighted.
