Webinars
Upcoming Webinars
Advancing Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning Through the MarinePlan Decision Support System
Wednesday, March 18, 10 am US EDT/7 am US PDT/2 pm UTC/3 pm CET. 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.
Tracking Global MPA Effectiveness: MPAtlas Tools and Tips
Thursday, March 26 at 10 am US EDT/7 am US PDT/2 pm UTC/3 pm CET. 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.
Valuing Marine Ecosystem Services for Better Decisions
Wednesday, April 8, 1 pm US EDT/10 am US PDT/5 pm UTC/6 pm BST. 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.
Past Webinars
Climate-Smart Adaptation: Vulnerability Assessment Results and Next Steps for the North-central California Coast and Ocean
Learn how the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary MPA is planning for climate-smart adaptation and how you might be able to use the same approach..
Estimating Blue Carbon Storage in Texas Coastal Wetlands
Blue Carbon is a term used to define carbon that is stored and sequestered in coastal wetland habitats. Wetland habitats found along the Gulf Coast of Texas include coastal salt marshes…
Application of the Sea-Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) to New York and Connecticut
In 2013, the states of New York and Connecticut and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission funded the application of the Sea-Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM)..
Integrating Oceans into the Landscape Conservation Cooperative Network
Conservation challenges of the 21st century are complex and include both local challenges and widespread threats such as drought, climate change, and large-scale habitat fragmentation…
Assessing Data-Limited Fisheries: the Framework for Integrated Stock and Habitat Evaluation (FISHE)
Thousands of commercial and recreational fisheries exist worldwide, representing an important component of many countries’ economies and supporting billions…
An Ocean of Story Maps
The story map is a relatively new medium for sharing not only data, photos, videos, sounds, and maps, but for telling a specific and compelling story by way of that content…
Keeping the Promise of Sydney – Next Steps for the Marine Agenda from the World Parks Congress
In this webinar, Lauren Wenzel, Acting Director of the NOAA National MPA Center, and Dan Laffoley, Marine Vice Chair for IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas..
The Blue Carbon Mapping Toolkit
This webinar originally aired on Dec 16, 2014. Presenter(s): Tim Wilkinson of UNEP WCMC Click here to view on YouTube
Restoring the Resilience of Caribbean Coral Reefs
Dr. Jackson presented on the new report Status and Trends of Caribbean Coral Reefs: 1970-2012. The report is a result of a three-year joint effort of the…
Ocean Planning’s Impact – An economic, environmental, and social retrospective
Existing studies have helped define what good ocean planning (also known as Maritime or Marine Spatial Planning) looks like..