Author Archives: Janina Korting

“The Future We Want” photo exhibition opens with blue solutions photos

“The Future We Want” photo exhibition opens with blue solution photos

Written by Janina Korting, Blue Solutions Initiative

Under the title “The Future We Want” the photo exhibition, organized by Green Cross, goes into its 6th edition. The exhibit aims to showcase how ideas are developed together and challenges are addressed jointly and across sectors. The 2017 edition will be shown along the Quai Wilson on Geneva’s lakefront. The images that are part of this exhibit are being contributed by international organisations, civil society and the private sector and showcase their actions and unique examples of innovation for sustainable development. Among the contributions are images from three inspiring blue solutions: a solution from Indonesia focusing on a marine spatial planning process, a solution on manta ray ecotourism and a great solution from Kenya on upcycling discarded flip-flops.

Side Event at the UN Ocean Conference – Blue Solutions Market Place

UN Headquartes in New York City © J Korting

Written by Janina Korting, Blue Solutions Initiative

Blue Solutions attended the high-level UN Ocean Conference to support the implementation of SDG 14 in June 2017 and (co-)organized several sessions (see the Debriefing post for an overview).

One of the events was the Blue Solutions Market Place – a side event that took place in the Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN on Ocean Day, Thursday, 8 June. The 90min session was opened by Nicola Breier, Head of Division “Marine Biodiversity” at the German Environment Ministry and provided an opportunity to get a first glimpse at this approach of exchanging experiences and supporting their re-use across regions.

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Blue Solutions at the Conservation Optimism Summit

Earth Optimism, an unprecedented gathering of thought leaders, scientists, environmentalists, artists, civic leaders and international media, is a global initiative that celebrates a change in focus from problem to solution, from a sense of loss to one of hope, in the dialogue about conservation and sustainability. The initiative cumulated to a series of 27 parallel sister events to celebrate reasons for optimism in conservation on the occasion of Earth Day (22 April). The Conservation Optimism Summit in London (20-22 April), held at the beautiful Dulwich College, was part of this series. Continue reading →

Coastal Marine Spatial Planning in the Gulf of California – an update from CEDO

By Peggy J. Turk Boyer, Hem Nalini Morzaria Luna, Tonatiuh Carrillo, Elia Polanco, Caroline Downton, Paloma Valdivia, CEDO

For the past years, the Blue Solutions Initiative has been supporting the Coastal Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) process in the Northern Gulf of California to promote this local example and share the important lessons from this process (see also here). The project is being led by the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans (CEDO), based in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico. This article describes the process that was initiated with small-scale fishers, the economically most important, but probably least organized activity in the region. Continue reading →

The Ocean and Us

Written by Maria Potouroglou, GRID-Arendal

The sea! The sea! The open sea! The blue, the fresh, the ever free!

From “The Sea” written by Barry Cornwall

“The Ocean and Us” was published in late 2016, with Blue Solutions implementing partner GRID-Arendal serving as chief editor. This publication brings together partners who share their knowledge and expertise on how healthy marine and coastal ecosystems support the achievement of the UN SDGs.

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5 days in Bakul – Ecosystem Services Training for Coral Reef Managers and Practitioners

5 Days in Bakul – Ecosystem Services Training for Coral Reef Managers and Practitioners

Written by Maria Potouroglou, GRID-Arendal

One destination, one goal: To integrate Ecosystem Services into Coastal and Marine Planning in the fictitious country of Bakul.

Organisers: The Nature Conservancy, Reef Resilience Network, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, GRID-Arendal, Blue Solutions

Where: Kona, Hawaii

When: 5-10 March 2017 Continue reading →

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) – 2nd International MSP Conference

Marine Spatial Planning – 2^nd International MSP Conference

From March 15-17 2017, the 2^nd international conference on MSP organized by the European Commission (DG MARE) in cooperation with UNESCO-IOC and took place in Paris. The objectives of the conference were (a) to explore how MSP can be used to address global challenges, (b) to reflect on how to accelerate the processes of MSP worldwide, and (c) to spread knowledge on specific themes and the process itself.

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Motivation flying high in the Blue Planning in Practice Training on the Isle of Vilm

How do you get a Blue Planning process started?
How do you identify and engage stakeholders?
What are ways to deal with conflicting marine uses?
What are crucial elements in drafting and approving a spatial management plan?

… These were only some of the questions that the participants of our Blue Planning in Practice Training had to tackle at the International Academy for Nature Conservation on the beautiful Isle of Vilm in the Baltic Sea in Germany.

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Sustainable Ocean Night at the CBD COP 13

UPDATE – You can now find a short video on the Sustainable Ocean Night online!

During CBD COP-13 in Cancún/Mexico, Blue Solutions and the Sustainable Ocean Initiative of the CBD Secretariat jointly convened the Sustainable Ocean Night. Two hundred delegates of Parties to the Convention and marine experts came together to celebrate successes, share inspiring approaches and solutions for conserving and sustainably using healthy marine and coastal ecosystems.

sustainable-ocean-night-collage-newsarticle-1

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PANORAMA webinar: Making marine ecosystem services matter

PANORAMA webinar – Making marine ecosystem services matter

UPDATE – The recording of the webinar and all presentations can now be found on OpenChannels’ website.

For this webinar, we will showcase how marine ecosystem service information can be used in conservation and sustainable development decision making. In adddition to a presentation from Nicola Beaumont of Plymouth Marine Laboratory, two Blue Solutions case studies will be featured: Esther Wolfs, Wolfs Comapny will share details on her solution “Nature’s contribution to the economy” from Bonaire and Samir Rosado, Belize Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute will share his experiences from Belize: “Mapping and valuing ecosystem services for integrated management”.

The webinar will last 75 minutes with extensive time for question and answer with the presenters. Continue reading →