by John Davis | Feb 16, 2015
UN agrees to draft international agreement to protect high seas After nine years of deliberations, the United Nations agreed in January 2015 to convene an intergovernmental conference to draft a treaty for governing waters beyond national jurisdiction. Although this...
by John Davis | Dec 31, 2014
This past November in Sydney, Australia, more than 6000 protected area practitioners, scientists, heads of state, indigenous leaders, and business executives gathered for the once-a-decade World Parks Congress, hosted by IUCN. In size and importance, the WPC is a big...
by John Davis | Dec 31, 2014
Leaders of several nations announced new commitments to MPA designation and management at the World Parks Congress: Gabon announced it would designate a network of MPAs covering 23% of the nation’s waters, or roughly 46,000 km2. Commercial fishing will be...
by John Davis | Dec 31, 2014
The World Parks Congress offered a high-profile opportunity for institutions to launch new publications on protected areas. Here are a dozen publications that were revealed in Sydney. Protected Planet Report 2014 (UNEP World Commission on Protected Areas; 80 pp.) This...
by John Davis | Dec 31, 2014
Two innovative technology tools were featured at the World Parks Congress: Global Fishing Watch (www.globalfishingwatch.org): This new tool, currently in prototype form, is designed to eventually allow the public to monitor the activity of commercial fishing vessels...
