Webinars

Wednesday, July 29, 1 pm US EDT/10 am US PDT/5 pm UTC. Presented by: Adrian Laufer of Sea & Shore Solutions and Christopher Janousek of Oregon State University. Description: Coastal wetlands – marshes, tidal forests, seagrass meadows, and mudflats – deliver an estimated $23 billion in storm-protection benefits in the US alone. The Pacific Northwest Regional Blue Carbon Calculator gives state agencies, planners, and conservation practitioners an easy-to-use tool and scientifically rigorous way to estimate the carbon emissions and sequestration impacts of land use planning decisions that affect wetlands. Built on a decade of regional data collected from the Pacific Northwest Blue Carbon Working Group from Northern California, Oregon, and Washington, the tool translates complex blue carbon science into actionable, regionally grounded estimates. This webinar will provide background about the working group’s regional projects that support development of the calculator and will show how the tool tracks the full range of land management actions, from conservation and restoration to disturbance and degradation, producing actionable results that agencies can use in funding applications, reports, and long-term planning. Real-world case studies, including wetland dredging and tidal restoration projects, will demonstrate the calculator in action. While the calculator’s current data is specific to the Pacific Northwest, this webinar will discuss how the underlying methodology can be replicated in other regions using local data.

Tuesday, September 1, 9 pm US EDT/6 pm US PDT and Wednesday, September 2, 1 am UTC/1 pm AEST (Brisbane, Australia). Presented by: David Carrasco Rivera of the University of Queensland and Amelia Wenger of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Description: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are central to global efforts to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. Yet emerging evidence indicates that nearly three-quarters of MPAs are exposed to sewage pollution, with typical pollution levels inside protected areas often substantially higher than in surrounding unprotected waters. Drawing on a global assessment of more than 16,000 MPAs – including detailed analysis of 1,855 tropical coastal MPAs across six regions – this webinar examines patterns of total nitrogen exposure from wastewater and the implications for coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests associated with these MPAs. Results reveal marked regional disparities with the highest pollution loads in parts of East Africa and the Middle East and North Africa – underscoring the need for context-specific wastewater management strategies. The findings point to a critical gap in current conservation policy – area-based protection alone cannot achieve biodiversity or resilience goals if land-based pollution remains unaddressed. This session will explore why wastewater pollution reduction must be integrated into 30×30 implementation to achieve effective conservation aims, while simultaneously strengthening ecosystem health, climate resilience, and the wellbeing of coastal communities.

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.

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.