Webinars

Upcoming Webinars

The Community Voice Method: Amplifying community voices in decision making processes

The Community Voice Method: Amplifying community voices in decision making processes

Tuesday, September 29, 11 am US EDT/8 am US PDT/3 pm UTC/4 pm BST/5 pm CEST. Presented by: Amdeep Sanghera and Emily Bunce of Marine Conservation Society, UK. Description: For marine conservation initiatives to be effective and ethical, it is crucial that the views and ideas of local communities and resource users be represented in decision making. Community Voice Method (CVM) is a holistic and inclusive way of stimulating more meaningful and equitable community engagement in natural resource policy development, decision-making and management. Engaging with community members in a way that seeks their views and encourages discussion on marine issues, CVM combines arts-based social research with best practice in stakeholder engagement to deliver insights and conversations which can support positive, constructive, and enduring relationships and improved outcomes for people and nature. This webinar will present an overview of this film-based transdisciplinary approach, its origin, its application within the context of the UK and the Caribbean UK Overseas Territories, and its impact on people and nature. In addition, the webinar will feature an existing project in the Turks and Caicos where significant resources are being applied to the upskilling of local partners on the method, reducing the territory’s reliance on external researchers and resulting in a more locally-led project.

Seagrass Loss and Restoration: Case Studies from the Indo-Pacific

Seagrass Loss and Restoration: Case Studies from the Indo-Pacific

Wednesday, September 30, at 0400 UTC. Presented by: Dr. Rohani Ambo Rappe of Hasanuddin University and Dr. Jennifer Verduin of Murdoch University. Description: Seagrass meadows are vital to food security, livelihoods, and coastal resilience across the Indo-Pacific. They provide gleaning and small-scale fishing opportunities for the region’s most food-insecure households, as well as essential habitat for commercial fisheries. They also protect coastal communities by reducing wave energy and erosion, buffering storm surges, stabilizing sediments, and filtering pollutants, pathogens, and excess nutrients to improve water quality. Greater Southeast Asian has the largest global extent of tropical seagrass, but over half is degraded. Restoration projects are underway across the region, with varying degrees of success. A recent synthesis of this work identified several factors—including species, restoration methods, light levels, wave energy, and water depth—that are associated with greater survival and establishment of restored seagrass. In this webinar seagrass restoration experts Dr. Rohani Ambo-Rappe and Dr. Jennifer Verduin will share lessons from two of the most extensive and well-studied seagrass restoration programs in the region, including: 1) The use of simple, low-cost restoration methods in the Spermonde Archipelago, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, 2) Work to replant foundational seagrass species in partnership with Indigenous traditional owners in Shark Bay, Western Australia. The presenters will discuss why seagrass loss occurred, describe the restoration approaches used and their successes and challenges, and share lessons learned about what works, what doesn’t, and why. The webinar will conclude with a live Q&A, providing attendees an opportunity to ask the presenters questions.

Designing High Seas MPAs that work: Practical solutions for monitoring, control and surveillance

Designing High Seas MPAs that work: Practical solutions for monitoring, control and surveillance

Thursday, October 8, Noon US EDT/9 am US PDT/4 pm UTC/5 pm BST/6 pm CEST. Presented by: Klaudija Cremers, Julien Rochette, and Alexandra Oliveira Pinto of IDDRI. Description: The credibility of future high seas marine protected areas (HSMPAs) established under the BBNJ Agreement will depend on their effective implementation and enforcement. Experiences from existing MPAs and high seas governance show that monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) is a decisive factor for compliance and enforcement. While the remoteness of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) poses major challenges, recent technological advances offer practical, scalable and cost-effective solutions, provided they are embedded in a broader compliance strategy. States and coalitions championing HSMPAs should therefore integrate a site-specific compliance strategy that includes MCS activities into their proposal from the outset, combining emerging technologies with complementary policy, legal, technical and cooperation measures. Over the past two years, IDDRI has conducted extensive research on MCS tools and services, including through interviews and expert consultations. This work resulted in a Guide that aims to support States and stakeholders in integrating MCS considerations into HSMPA proposals. This webinar will present the key findings of this work.

Assessing MPA Quality at Scale: An Introduction to the MPAtlas Assessment Portal

Assessing MPA Quality at Scale: An Introduction to the MPAtlas Assessment Portal

Tuesday, October 20, Noon US EDT/9 am US PDT/4 pm UTC/5 pm BST/6 pm CEST. Presented by: Beth Pike, Jessica MacCarthy, and Nikki Harasta of the Marine Conservation Institute. Description: The Marine Protection Atlas (MPAtlas) is the leading resource for marine protected area (MPA) effectiveness tracking and reporting. The MPAtlas team is building a comprehensive global database of MPA assessments using The MPA Guide, a science-based framework that evaluates an MPA across two dimensions: Stage of Establishment (its status in the process of becoming an MPA) and Level of Protection (how well it is protected from the impact of human activities). With nearly 17,000 officially reported MPAs, growing the database requires the expertise of scientists and practitioners across the globe. To facilitate data collection, the MPAtlas team recently launched the new MPAtlas Assessment Portal, a data entry portal that allows users to complete MPA Guide assessments and submit additional data to existing assessments to help grow the MPAtlas database. Join the MPAtlas team on this webinar to learn more about the purpose, utility, and functionality of the new data portal, including a brief tour of the portal and tips on how to register and get started.

MasKelp: Protecting kelp ecosystems through science, capacity building, and communication

MasKelp: Protecting kelp ecosystems through science, capacity building, and communication

Wednesday, October 28, 1 pm US EDT/10 am US PDT/5 pm UTC/6 pm CET. Presented by: Nur Arafeh Dalmau, Carolina Olguin Jacobson, and Fiorenza Micheli with the Stanford University Doerr School of Sustainability Hopkins Marine Station. Description: Kelp forests are among the most productive and valuable ecosystems on the planet, supporting extraordinary biodiversity and coastal communities worldwide. Yet despite their ecological, social, and economic importance and growing threats from climate change and human impacts, less than 2% of kelp forests are currently effectively protected. MasKelp is a non-profit and fiscally sponsored project of The Ocean Foundation dedicated to addressing this conservation gap through science, capacity building, and communication, with a particular focus on Latin America. MasKelp combines long-term ecological monitoring, satellite data, and collaborative research to identify priority areas for kelp conservation and translate this knowledge into practical conservation and management actions. Current projects include mapping climate refugia for kelp forests in Mexico and Argentina, monitoring kelp forest in Latin America, and supporting participatory science with fishing communities and conservation partners. This webinar will showcase how MasKelp connects science with conservation action, from identifying climate refugia and conservation gaps to building long-term ecological monitoring programs and strengthening local capacity. It will also highlight MasKelp’s training programs for scientific divers, kelp mappers, and conservation scientists and its efforts to raise global and local awareness of kelp forests through underwater photography, videography, storytelling, and scientific publications.

Past Webinars

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