by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Apr 16, 2026 | Past Webinars, Webinars
This webinar originally aired on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Presented by: Roland Cormier and Michael Elliott of International Estuarine & Coastal Specialists (IECS). Description: There is long history of multi-disciplinary research dedicated to Ecosystem-based Approaches (EBA) for environmental policies and management plans – these combine to create Ecosystem-based Management (EBM). Research provides valuable insights into environmental impacts and their effects on biodiversity through ecosystem status overviews, impact assessments, and environmental quality reports generated from large data sets and models using conceptual, qualitative, and quantitative methods. Since policies establish the reasons for action and management outlines the priorities to be addressed, it is ultimately technical measures (Ecosystem-based Technical Measures, EBTM) that specify how managers of human activities can best reduce pressures on ecosystems. An applied science approach – Ecosystem-based Science (EBS) – is needed to inform the reliability and effectiveness of such technical measures. This talk will present this EBA-EBM-EBTM-EBS continuum and build on a previous talk given last year on recent advances in environmental science for management (see OCTO webinar July 2025 https://octogroup.org/recent-developments-in-the-sustainable-management-of-marine-resources). Most initiatives and examples presented will be related to marine environments, but some from other aquatic environments will also be used.
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 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.
by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | Feb 26, 2026 | Past Webinars, Webinars
This webinar originally aired on Thursday, February 26, 2026. Presented by: Moderators Kayla Ripple and Nate Fedrizzi of Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation and panelists Ana Sequeira of Australian National University and MegaMove, Mark Erdmann of ReShark and Re:Wild, and Elizabeth Karan of Pew Charitable Trusts. Description: Selecting the right locations for high seas marine protected areas (MPAs) requires understanding where animals live and how they travel through the global ocean. A 2025 study provides timely insights into how many of the world’s most iconic marine species use international waters, and where protections could help them recover and thrive. The findings stem from a research project led by 2020 Pew Marine Fellow, Ana M.M. Sequeira, Associate Professor at the Australia National University and Research Director and Founder of MegaMove. This webinar will start with a short presentation highlighting key results from the study followed by an expert panel that will discuss how this information can help inform decision-making around the achievement of global conservation targets and the design of a future high seas MPA network.
