Webinars

Upcoming Webinars

MPA policy must include wastewater management to achieve 30×30 effective conservation aims

MPA policy must include wastewater management to achieve 30×30 effective conservation aims

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.

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.

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.

Past Webinars

Finding the Right Tool(s) for Coastal Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Planning

Finding the Right Tool(s) for Coastal Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Planning

Many coastal natural resource managers and communities have begun to plan for the impacts of climate change on their local ecosystems and infrastructure. Practitioners are finding it difficult to select tools suited to their needs and capacities, however, because of the wide variety of tools, the difficulty of finding easily-understandable information about tool functions, and the lack of ways to compare different tools (e.g. their functionality, data and training requirements, and strengths and limitations). The EBM Tools Network released a decision guide, Tools for Coastal Climate Adaptation Planning, in early March. The guide provides information on a set of key tools for multi-sector climate-related planning (i.e. planning which incorporates both ecosystem health and human well-being concerns), explains and illustrates the utility and role of tools in planning, and outlines a process for selecting appropriate tools for a projects. This webinar will provide a short overview of resources provided in the guide (tool matrix, other tool information, case studies, etc.) and use the remaining time for answering questions from participants about the guide and incorporating climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning tools into planning processes. A number of tool experts will also be on hand to answer questions about specific tools described in the guide….

Demonstration of Monitoring Resources

Demonstration of Monitoring Resources

MonitoringResources.org, developed by the Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership, is a suite of tools that helps investigators plan and implement effective, efficient…….

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