Webinars

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.

Wednesday, October 28, 1 pm US EDT/10 am US PDT/5 pm UTC/6 pm CET. Presented by: Nur Arafeh Dalmau, Carolina Olguin Jacobson, and Fiorenza Micheli with the Stanford University Doerr School of Sustainability Hopkins Marine Station. Description: Kelp forests are among the most productive and valuable ecosystems on the planet, supporting extraordinary biodiversity and coastal communities worldwide. Yet despite their ecological, social, and economic importance and growing threats from climate change and human impacts, less than 2% of kelp forests are currently effectively protected. MasKelp is a non-profit and fiscally sponsored project of The Ocean Foundation dedicated to addressing this conservation gap through science, capacity building, and communication, with a particular focus on Latin America. MasKelp combines long-term ecological monitoring, satellite data, and collaborative research to identify priority areas for kelp conservation and translate this knowledge into practical conservation and management actions. Current projects include mapping climate refugia for kelp forests in Mexico and Argentina, monitoring kelp forest in Latin America, and supporting participatory science with fishing communities and conservation partners. This webinar will showcase how MasKelp connects science with conservation action, from identifying climate refugia and conservation gaps to building long-term ecological monitoring programs and strengthening local capacity. It will also highlight MasKelp’s training programs for scientific divers, kelp mappers, and conservation scientists and its efforts to raise global and local awareness of kelp forests through underwater photography, videography, storytelling, and scientific publications.

Wednesday, November 4, at 10 am US EST/7 am US PST/3 pm UTC/3 pm WET/4 pm CET. Presented by: Catarina Frazão Santos of the University of Lisbon and Peter Menzies of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Description: Taking a holistic approach to the spatial management, protection and governance of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean is fundamental, particularly under increasing human pressure and a rapidly changing climate. Participatory mapping approaches support collaborative, science-driven ocean management and governance by involving key stakeholders in the collective creation of maps and geospatial data to support informed decision-making. They include identifying hotspots of value (ecological, social, economic) and developing intensity maps based on stakeholders’ views. The Antarctic Ocean Use Survey (OUS) is a newly launched participatory mapping initiative developed under project PLAnT in collaboration with SeaSketch. The goal is to engage the Antarctic research community in collectively identifying places of importance and value in the region and mapping marine and coastal areas relevant to scientific research, conservation, tourism, and fisheries. The survey will also explore perceptions of areas undergoing environmental and ecological change in the Antarctic region. Results will be used to produce scientific information that informs Antarctic spatial management, protection, and governance in a rapidly changing world. In this webinar, we will present the Antarctic OUS in detail and contextualize it within the most recent developments of project PLAnT.

Thursday, December 3, Noon US EST/9 am US PST/5 pm UTC. Presented by: Amanda Bates of the University of Victoria. Description: Marine heatwaves are one of the most direct ways climate change affects ocean biodiversity. Past events have removed kelp forests and seagrass meadows, caused mass coral bleaching, and triggered harmful algal blooms and fisheries closures. Global sea surface temperatures reached a record high in August 2026, and the 2026–27 El Niño is forecast to be very strong, increasing the likelihood of marine heatwaves across multiple ocean basins. Most of what we know about marine heatwave impacts has been assembled after the fact, using monitoring designed for other purposes. Now, forecasts provide weeks to months of advance warning—creating an opportunity to begin monitoring before events occur. This webinar will introduce a global protocol to enable at least one survey before and one after an event, paired with a temperature record, so observations can be compared across locations and methods. Participation will be open to researchers, managers, Indigenous knowledge holders, community scientists, and industry, and contributors will retain control of their data. Join us to learn about ongoing efforts to build an international network ahead of the El Niño, plan an in-person workshop in 2027 in Perth, Australia, and share knowledge through a dedicated special issue of the journal Biological Conservation. Key questions this work aims to answer include: Do impacts scale with heat exposure? Are populations at the warm edge of the heatwave most affected? Where do refuges exist?