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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This webinar originally aired on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Presented by: Tom Hooper of Fishtek Marine Ltd & Eliot Miller of American Bird Conservancy. Description: The Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) Incubator supports innovative solutions that use finance, data, and economic tools to advance sustainable conservation outcomes. This webinar will highlight two conservation enterprises: one focused on enabling sustainable fisheries and the other on biodiversity measurement – both cases exploring how robust data, technology, and impact metrics can help make conservation enterprises investable, improve accountability, and mobilize capital for nature-positive outcomes. In the first half of the webinar, Tom Hooper of Fishtek Marine Ltd will talk about the development of an innovative, low-impact method for harvesting scallops using pots as an alternative to damaging dredging. Dredging currently accounts for the majority of scallop harvesting and is associated with high emissions and significant seabed damage. This project explores how investment coupled with the right incentives can support a transition toward lower-impact fisheries. A core focus of the work is to integrate robust, science-based models on social, economic and environmental costs and benefits to enhance investment and policy for this transformation. The project aims to enable investors and regulators to better evaluate and support sustainable fisheries transitions, with applications extending beyond the UK. In the second half of the webinar, Eliot Miller of American Bird Conservancy will present the BirdsPlus Index. The BirdsPlus Index is a science-based tool to measure, report, and validate biodiversity outcomes for conservation finance, impact investing, and nature-positive action. The Index combines data from acoustic recordings, AI-driven species identification, conservation value scoring, and remote sensing to generate site-level biodiversity insights and an overall ecological integrity score. By providing a scalable, credible, and on-the-ground approach to biodiversity measurement, the BirdsPlus Index addresses a critical gap in conservation finance: the need for efficient, reliable, and science-based outcome tracking.

This webinar originally aired on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Presented by: Judy Mann-Lang, Founder of MPA Day, and Katja Laingui, European Coordinator for MPA Day. Description: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are essential for conserving biodiversity, supporting sustainable livelihoods, and building climate resilience. MPA Day celebrated on August 1 annually is a coordinated global celebration to amplify collective efforts to protect the ocean. This webinar will highlight the evolution of MPA Day and its growing reach as more regions join in celebrating and promoting the value of MPAs. Judy Mann-Lang will discuss the origin of and motivation for MPA Day and its early growth, based on an understanding of the communication principles that underpin effective MPA management and public engagement. Katja Laingui will outline the steps taken to broaden MPA Day outreach into Europe and foster connections with emerging partners worldwide. Together, the speakers will share practical ways organizations and individuals can participate and help the initiative to grow in reach and impact.

This webinar originally aired on Thursday, February 5, 2026. Presented by: Fernando Bretos of Cresta Coastal Network & Blanda Andrimamy and Léa Méléard of Miarakap. Description: The Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) Incubator supports the development of innovative finance solutions that deliver sustained conservation outcomes. This webinar showcases two trust-fund–based approaches that mobilize long-term capital for biodiversity conservation and climate resilience. In the first half of the webinar, Fernando Bretos of Cresta Coastal Network will present a pioneering effort to develop Cuba’s first debt conversion for nature and Conservation Trust Fund (CTF). This initiative aims to channel fiscal savings from debt relief into biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, and sustainable fisheries management, benefiting more than 200 protected areas and critical coastal ecosystems. The creation of an independent CTF can ensure long-term financial sustainability and transparent governance. Building on successful debt conversions and other sustainable finance experiences in the Caribbean, the project seeks to strengthen ecosystem resilience, food security, and climate adaptation through durable, trust-based financing. In the second half of the webinar, Blanda Andrimamy and Léa Méléard of Miarakap will present the Mitsiry Biodiversity and Climate Technical Assistance Facility, a key part of a blended finance vehicle designed to support biodiversity-positive enterprises in Madagascar and Eastern and Southern Africa. The initiative combines a $50 million investment fund with a $5 million technical assistance facility (TAF) that provides grant-based technical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises. The TAF approach is designed to strengthen financial structuring, impact measurement, and governance, enabling businesses to scale while improving conservation outcomes. By aligning with global best practices in conservation finance, the TAF aims to attract donors and investors while catalyzing long-term, investment-ready conservation enterprises.

This webinar originally aired on Monday, January 26, 2026. Presented by: Bhalin Singh of Prajna Ventures and Onkemetse Nteta of IUCN. Description: The Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) Incubator Program fosters innovative solutions to conservation challenges. These solutions use finance or economic tools to create clear conservation outcomes or sustained conservation financing. This webinar, the third in a series of five, will showcase two solutions for raising capital from tourism and blending finance for infrastructure investments. In the first half of the webinar, Bhalin Singh of Prajna Ventures will present the Global Green Visa®. The Global Green Visa® (GGV) transforms global tourism into a dedicated and consistent revenue stream for lasting environmental and social impact. Seamlessly embedded within a nation’s existing e-visa system, it adds a modest, transparent contribution directly into priority biodiversity conservation outcomes. The management and use of the funds are independently verified and transparent. Designed for global scaling, GGV is a credible, repeatable model for financing nature. Each green visa becomes an invitation to invest in the planet. In the second half of the webinar Onkemetse Nteta of IUCN will present the Transfrontier Conservation Area (TCFA) Infrastructure Finance Mechanism. Unmet funding needs for the development and management of TFCAs, particularly for infrastructure development and maintenance, are a critical challenge for many countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The TCFA Financing Facility is a regional funding mechanism designed to provide sustainable funding for conservation and management actions in SADC TCFAs. The Facility will capture growing interest from donors and the private sector to develop a EUR 100 million blended finance structure to deliver infrastructure at scale in four selected TFCAs. Infrastructure will improve protected areas management effectiveness, unlock the economic potential of TFCAs, and promote social uplift for TFCA communities.

This webinar originally aired on Thursday, January 22, 2026. Presented by: Hollie Booth of the University of Oxford and Kebersamaan Untuk Lautan & Camille Richer and Yousr Ben Fadhel of BlueMove / BlueSeeds. Description: The Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) Incubator fosters innovative solutions to conservation challenges by supporting projects that use financial and economic tools to deliver measurable conservation outcomes and long-term sustainability. This webinar, the second in a series of five, highlights two approaches that focus on transitioning fisheries toward more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient models – aligning biodiversity conservation with livelihoods and coastal community well-being. In the first half of the webinar, Hollie Booth of the University of Oxford and Kebersamaan Untuk Lautan will present on marine conservation incentives – a scalable, cost-effective approach to protecting marine biodiversity while safeguarding the livelihoods and wellbeing of coastal communities. This program uses positive incentives – tailored to local realities through a people-centered and evidence-based approach – to drive pro-conservation behavior and support economic welfare in small-scale fisheries. The presentation will explain why and how positive incentives are a powerful solution; share evidence of measurable positive outcomes from a portfolio of pilot programs; and explore how marine conservation incentives can be sustained and scaled to deliver durable benefits for nature and people. In the second half of the webinar, Camille Richer and Yousr Ben Fadhel of BlueMove / BlueSeeds will introduce a new nature-positive fund designed to regenerate marine ecosystems and strengthen coastal livelihoods. Building on the proven BlueMove model in Europe, the fund combines technical assistance and concessional finance to support a regenerative blue economy: sustainable fishing, shellfish farming, value chains, and mangrove-positive livelihoods. The pilot phase will focus in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Tunisia and Senegal in partnership with local cooperatives, microfinance institutions, and MPA managers. The presentation will demonstrate how financial incentives can encourage compliance with conservation rules while improving income stability. It will also outline opportunities for donors to support the launch of the pilot phase.