Webinars
Upcoming Webinars
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
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
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.
Past Webinars
A Cultural Resources Toolkit for MPA Managers
The Cultural Heritage Resources Working Group of the MPA Federal Advisory Committee is creating a virtual toolkit for coastal and MPA managers on cultural resource management
Using Sea Sketch for Collaborative Design of Ocean Management Plans
This webinar originally aired on 25 September 2014. SeaSketch is a platform for collaborative design of science-based ocean management plans, including marine protected areas, transportation…
Marine Wilderness 10+10 Project: Bringing Back the Wild
Marine Wilderness is a powerful vision of functional, healthy and resilient marine life that regenerates populations of wild species interconnected to form productive food webs…
A Climate-Smart Approach to Adaptive Management of North-central California Coast and Ocean Habitats, Species, and Ecosystem Services
The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Climate-Smart Adaptation Project for the North-central California Coast and Ocean is an effort to integrate adaptive management..
Principles for Effective Stakeholder Engagement in Marine Planning: Training #2
Marine planning is a comprehensive, integrated, and complex process that often seeks to coordinate decisions and activities across numerous ocean stakeholders…
iMarine Data e-Infrastructure Initiative for Fisheries Management and Conservation of Marine Living Resources
iMarine is an open and collaborative initiative aimed at supporting the implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management and the conservation of living marine resources.
Interactive panel discussion on utility and feasibility of cleaning up ocean plastics
In this interactive panel discussion, three experts on ocean plastics will discuss the utility and feasibility of marine debris cleanup, and will take audience questions…
Building Capacity to Sustainably Manage Increasing Recreational Uses in MPAs
Recreational uses of MPAs are expanding rapidly in the US and around the globe. While promising many benefits to users and the sites..
Marine and Coastal Datasets of Biodiversity Importance
This webinar originally aired on July 1, 2014. The availability and appropriate use of marine and coastal data form the foundation of effective decision-making. The…
Preparing for Disaster at MPAs
The presentation will focus on the need to consider disaster response planning for marine protected areas using the example of the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in Mississippi…