Webinars
Upcoming Webinars
Empowering Youth to Conserve their Coastal Wetlands – Education, Communication, and Partnership in the Indo-Pacific
Tuesday, November 17, at 03:00 UTC. Presented by: Mary Mar E. Jaleco of the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, Matthew Vincent Tabilog of Mangrove Matters Philippines and Youth Engaged in Wetlands (YEW), and Phebe Fidge of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Youth Task Force. Webinar description: Coastal mangrove and seagrass ecosystems are vital for shoreline protection and coastal livelihoods, yet many are degraded or threatened by human impacts. Engaging youth in conservation and restoration is essential, but barriers such as inadequate support, policy gaps, and unclear pathways for participation limit meaningful, sustained engagement. This webinar will explore how youth-led and youth-focused initiatives are advancing coastal wetlands conservation across local, regional, and global scales. Speakers will share experiences from immersive, place-based learning; grassroots youth organizing; and international policy engagement. Mary Mar E. Jaleco, Community Extension Services Coordinator at the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, will present on the JBLFMU Eco-Adventure Camp, which engages youth ages 16–20 in immersive, hands-on learning in wetlands, and will share outcomes and lessons for engaging youth in coastal wetlands conservation and restoration. Matthew Vincent Tabilog, Founder of Mangrove Matters Philippines and Knowledge and Capacity Building Lead for Youth Engaged in Wetlands (YEW), will present on Mangrove Matters’ youth-led work advancing mangrove conservation through education and community engagement and will share lessons from YEW on mobilizing youth for coastal wetlands conservation. Phebe Fidge, Co-chair of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Youth Task Force, will highlight barriers and enablers for youth engagement, drawing on the Task Force’s recent report on policy coherence gaps for youth-led ecosystem restoration and CYMG’s recent guide to youth engagement for inclusive ocean governance. She will also draw from her experience restoring coastal wetlands in Australia. After the presentations, there will be live Q&A to address questions from webinar participants about how they can empower inclusive and effective youth-centered approaches to coastal wetlands conservation and restoration in their own communities. Captioning will be available in over 30 languages.
Why enforcement Isn’t enough: A new framework for improving compliance in Marine Protected Areas
Tuesday, December 1, 2 pm US EST/11 am US PST/9 am HST/7 pm UTC. Presented by: Brock Bergseth of James Cook University, Catherine Moltzen of the University of New England, Michael Guilbeaux of University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Cory Pukini of The Waitt Institute, and Chris Wilcox of WildAid. Description: Noncompliance regularly undermines the effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide. Although the drivers of noncompliance vary — e.g., insufficient funding, capacity, neocolonialism, historical conflict — the most common response is increased enforcement. This response is well intentioned but incomplete; it is reactive rather than proactive, does not address the human issues involved, and does not ensure increased compliance. This webinar presents a novel adaptive management framework for compliance in MPAs, built around six elements: a regulatory basis, a situational assessment and conceptual model, data and information gathering, risk assessment and strategic planning, compliance treatments, and monitoring and reporting effectiveness. Integrating these elements into a structured approach enables MPA practitioners to better understand and manage compliance behaviors. Drawing on decades of on-the-ground MPA management experience from diverse cultural and regulatory contexts — from small community tabu areas in Papua New Guinea to large-scale parks like the Great Barrier Reef — this session will highlight how tailored interventions — including strategic communication, normative approaches, and risk-based enforcement — can improve the use of limited management resources.
Hosted by: OCTO
Watching the ocean before the heat arrives: Coordinated marine heatwave monitoring for the 2026-27 El Niño
Thursday, December 3, Noon US EST/9 am US PST/5 pm UTC. Presented by: Amanda Bates of the University of Victoria. Description: Marine heatwaves are one of the most direct ways climate change affects ocean biodiversity. Past events have removed kelp forests and seagrass meadows, caused mass coral bleaching, and triggered harmful algal blooms and fisheries closures. Global sea surface temperatures reached a record high in August 2026, and the 2026–27 El Niño is forecast to be very strong, increasing the likelihood of marine heatwaves across multiple ocean basins. Most of what we know about marine heatwave impacts has been assembled after the fact, using monitoring designed for other purposes. Now, forecasts provide weeks to months of advance warning—creating an opportunity to begin monitoring before events occur. This webinar will introduce a global protocol to enable at least one survey before and one after an event, paired with a temperature record, so observations can be compared across locations and methods. Participation will be open to researchers, managers, Indigenous knowledge holders, community scientists, and industry, and contributors will retain control of their data. Join us to learn about ongoing efforts to build an international network ahead of the El Niño, plan an in-person workshop in 2027 in Perth, Australia, and share knowledge through a dedicated special issue of the journal Biological Conservation. Key questions this work aims to answer include: Do impacts scale with heat exposure? Are populations at the warm edge of the heatwave most affected? Where do refuges exist?
Past Webinars
Integrating Climate Change into Marine Protected Area (MPA) Management Plans
This webinar originally aired on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Presented by: Vincenzo Corelli of l’Institut national de la recherche scientifique. Description: The highly dynamic shifts in species distributions and transformations of marine ecosystems due to climate change present significant management challenges to marine protected areas (MPAs). While climate change projections can be incorporated into the design process for new MPAs and MPA networks, adaptation is less clear for established MPAs, which were often not designed with climate change impacts in mind. This webinar will explore the results of an analysis that surveyed the integration of climate change measures in existing MPA management plans. The presenter will share what actions are already being taken by MPA managers to anticipate, adapt to, and mitigate the consequences of climate change and ensure the continued effectiveness of MPAs in a changing ocean. They will also discuss how their results create a community-sourced database of actions which other MPAs can draw upon.
Everything you wanted to know about marine OECMs (but didn’t dare to ask!)
This webinar originally aired on Thursday, June 23, 2022. Presented by: Imen Meliane, Marine OECM Lead of the IUCN-World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA); Tundi Agardy, Director of Sound Seas; and Jannica Haldin, Deputy Executive Secretary of Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission/ Helsinki Commission (HELCOM). Description: “Other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs) is a relatively new term to recognize and support existing area-based conservation efforts that contribute to biodiversity conservation outcomes but are not formally recognized and reported as protected areas. There is increasing recognition that OECMs are necessary for achieving Aichi Target 11 and post-2020 area-based conservation targets. In the marine environment, government agencies, communities, and other organizations have started assessing their potential OECMs and reporting them. Over 200 marine OECMs are now formally recognized. This webinar will introduce the concept of OECMs and outline their definition and criteria, with a focus on marine OECMs. It will also provide a practical example of how marine OECMS are being advanced alongside MPAs to further marine biodiversity protection in the Baltic Sea.
Measuring progress towards effective MPAs – indicators and tools
This webinar originally aired on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Presented by: Felipe Paredes, Marine Vice Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and National Coordinator for MPAs, Ministry of Environment, Chile; Helen Klimmek, Programme Officer, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC); and Sue Wells, Chair of the IUCN-WCPA MPA Management Effectiveness Task Force and Independent Consultant. Description: The global target of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030 involves not only designation of more areas but also equitable and effective management of designated sites. This webinar will cover recent activity related to assessing protected area management effectiveness (PAME) of MPAs, including: 1) IUCN WCPA’s priorities for work on effectiveness and implementation of MPAs and OECMs so that they achieve conservation outcomes; 2) work to establish indicators for measuring the effectiveness of protected areas and OECMs at the global level; and 3) a brief overview of PAME assessment tools in use and in development for MPAs. Presentations will be followed by a discussion on how the MPA community can come together, share experiences, and collaboratively accelerate the effective implementation of MPAs.
Applying Behavioral Insights to Improve Marine Conservation
This webinar originally aired on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. Presented by: Claudia Quintanilla and Katie Heffner of Rare. Description: Environmental challenges are also behavioral challenges; solving them requires behavioral solutions. Rare and its Center for Behavior & the Environment (BE.Center) applies behavioral science to help tackle some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. This webinar will explore behavior-centered design, how it can be applied to marine conservation programs, and examples of successful cases from around the world – with challenge areas ranging from marine pollution to small-scale fishery management. Presenters will share actionable resources tools and other practical guides to apply behavioral insights in marine conservation programs.
Ocean Governance for MPA Managers: Exchanging experiences between South-East Asia and the Atlantic
This webinar originally aired on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Presented by: Purificaciò Canals, Team Leader of the Ocean Governance Project. Description: The European Union Ocean Governance project brings together partners from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia to improve the work of MPA managers in the field. The Ocean Governance project has developed two self-assessment tools for MPAs – the Coastal Resilience Self-Assessment Tool and the Marine Mammals Self-Assessment Tool. It also connects regional and national networks and learning exchanges of MPA managers, promotes transboundary cooperation for marine protection, and is working to restore sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines. This webinar will provide an overview of the whole project as well as present the two self-assessment tools.
Using Regulatory Data to Inform Marine Spatial Planning Efforts
This webinar originally aired on April 28, 2022. Presented by: Deirdre Brannigan of ProtectedSeas. Being able to access rules and regulations in marine protected areas (MPAs) is critical to understanding which MPAs or OECM (other effective conservation measures) have restrictions in place to meet conservation goals. The ProtectedSeas Navigator mapping project is a one-stop resource for policymakers to find out where MPAs are located as well as discover the existing regulations and evaluate their various levels of protection. This regulations-based tool can be used to inform protection analyses and aid in forecasting other areas that need protection. Currently ProtectedSeas has data for over 15,500 MPAs in more than 106 countries –the only place this comprehensive repository of information and data exists. ProtectedSeas is in a formal public-private partnership with the US NOAA MPA Center. This webinar will be of special interest to MPA managers, resource protection staff, policy makers, scientists, and the conservation community who are interested in assessing ocean conservation regulations and protection metrics.
BlueMooring: A sustainable solution for managing MPA moorings and financing marine conservation activities
This webinar originally aired on April 6, 2022. Presented by: Yousr Ben Fadhel and Louis Vercauteren of BlueSeeds. BlueSeeds is a French company that helps MPAs reach financial sustainability and increase the effectiveness of their conservation activities. BlueSeeds believes that one way of supporting MPA managers is to provide them practical tools that can make their day-to-day management work easier while also financing some of their conservation activities. To this end, BlueSeeds has developed a web app that MPA managers can use to manage the booking of their MPA moorings. With this tool, MPA managers can control and monitor the recreational use of the MPA, communicate more easily with visitors, and generate conservation revenues from the paid booking of moorings managed through the web app.
Verra Standards for Sustainability, Resilience, and Carbon (including Blue carbon, Coastal Resilience, and Plastic Waste Reduction)
This webinar originally aired on March 16, 2022. Presented by: Sinclair Vincent, Anna Mortimer, and Kristen Linscott of Verra. Verra is a nonprofit organization that develops and provides standards that drive investment toward high-impact activities addressing environmental and social challenges across the globe. The rigorous process to meet Verra’s standards include independent verification and issuance of claims and credits. Verra’s standards are employed by a broad variety of governments, corporations and other private actors, and NGOs around the world. This webinar will present Verra’s programs in climate and sustainability focusing on standards in Blue Carbon to sequester carbon dioxide, Coastal Resilience to improve protection of human and environmental assets, and Plastic Waste Reduction to reduce waste ending up in the environment and incentivize recycling.
New tool for assessing the environmental impacts of wave energy projects
This webinar originally aired on March 1, 2022. Presented by: Ibon Galparsoro of AZTI. Marine renewable energies are gaining momentum around the world due to the need to develop safe energy sources that can help the world decarbonize and fight climate change. However, the full potential of energy from waves, currents and wind has yet to be tapped – in part due to uncertainty about how energy conversion devices may impact the marine environment. AZTI has developed a new tool – the WEC-ERA Tool – to assess the ecological risk of wave energy converters. This is an open-access tool for managers, decisionmakers, industry and others to evaluate the environmental risks associated with new wave energy projects. The tool evaluates how three different wave power conversion technologies – oscillating water column, oscillating wave surge converters, and wave turbines – affect the ecosystem. The system addresses all phases of the lifecycle of those power conversion technologies, from installation to operation to dismantling. This tool is intuitive and easy to use. The characteristics of the proposed installation are entered (i.e., number of units, total authorized surface, installed production capacity in megawatts, project lifespan in years, and area reserved for the equipment). Results consider possible impacts on the seabed and native bird, mammal, fish, reptile, and cephalopod species.
Urban Ocean: Partnering to advance clean, healthy cities for clean, healthy seas
This webinar originally aired on February 24, 2022. Presented by: Steve Morrison of NOAA, Jenna Jambeck of the University of Georgia, and Keri Browder of the Ocean Conservancy. This webinar will present the NOAA Marine Debris Program and its partnerships to curb plastic waste. It will cover the program’s overarching portfolio and goals as well as one of its programs – Urban Ocean. Led by Ocean Conservancy and in close collaboration with University of Georgia’s New Materials Institute and Circularity Informatics Lab, Urban Ocean provides a platform for city governments to connect with one another as well as with community leaders, academia, and the private sector to develop, share, and scale solutions to the ocean plastics crisis while progressing their broader urban development priorities. The webinar will showcase Urban Ocean’s recent findings and outputs, including the results of the Circularity Assessment Protocol in each of the learning cities and the recently released Urban Ocean Toolkit.