Website: information on Great Barrier Reef re-zoning
The process of re-zoning the 344,000-km2 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park required years of public consultation and planning by officials (MPA News 5:10), culminating in July 2004 when the new zoning plan took effect. Lessons from this planning effort may be adaptable to other MPA-planning processes worldwide. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has launched a website with links to information on all features of the re-zoning process, including biophysical operating principles, socioeconomic evaluations, a financial assistance program for stakeholders affected by new closures, and more. The website, to be updated as additional information is prepared and further papers are written, is at http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/management/zoning/planners_info.html. Any comments or suggestions to improve the information may be e-mailed to Jon Day, GBRMPA director of conservation, at j.day@gbrmpa.gov.au.
IMPAC1 update
The organizing committee for the First International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC1) is finalizing the draft congress program: 235 abstracts (out of the 630 initially submitted) were requested to prepare expanded versions. It is anticipated that approximately 170 of these will be invited to present papers in the final congress program, to be announced in late May. IMPAC1 will be held 23-28 October 2005 in Geelong, Australia. Early registration is open until 10 July. For more information, visit the IMPAC1 website at http://www.impacongress.org.