Debriefing: Blue Solutions at IMPAC4

Written by Marie Fischborn and Volker Koch, Blue Solutions Initiative

The Blue Solutions Initiative participated at the Fourth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC4) took place under the theme Marine Protected Areas: Bringing the people and ocean together” from September 4 to 8, 2017 in La Serena-Coquimbo (Chile). Over 800 attendants from conservation institutions, government agencies, academic and research institutions and civil society participated in the event and discussed many different aspects of how Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are essential tools for sustainable development and biodiversity conservation.

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Blue solutions from and for the Mesoamerican Reef

Written by Pia Wiesner, Blue Solutions Initiative

In a webinar on September 1, 2017 organized jointly by the Mesoamerican Reef Leadership Program and Blue Solutions, participants had the opportunity to learn about our solution-ing approach and the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet platform.

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“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.

Blue Solutions at IMPAC4

Written by Pia Wiesner, Blue Solutions Initiative

The Fourth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC4) will be an important milestone dealing with marine conservation before reaching the 2020 deadline for the Aichi Targets. The congress will take place from September 4 to 8, 2017 in La Serena-Coquimbo (Chile). With the motto Marine Protected Areas: Bringing the people and ocean together, it intends to highlight the intricate nature of ocean-human relationship and the benefits of marine protected areas (MPAs) and the ocean for many people who depend on their ecosystem services.

The Blue Solutions Initiative looks forward to participating in and contributing to the congress. We will be present at the IUCN Ocean Pavilion and will host two knowledge cafés and two workshops. Our events will focus on solution-oriented approaches to MPA management and will feature successful real-life examples from the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet platform.

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Small-Scale Fisheries in Focus

Written by Ronja Schmidt, Blue Solutions Initiative

With a rapidly growing world population, the small-scale fisheries sector is attracting more and more attention from the international community. Small-scale fisheries contribute about half of global fish catches and it is estimated that the sector employs more than 90% of the world’s capture fishers and fish workers.

In the multimedia article ‘Solutions in Focus: Small-scale fisheries – towards an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future’ discover five blue solutions from South Africa, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia that address the challenge of improving the socio-economic conditions of small-scale fishing communities while ensuring an environmentally sustainable fisheries management.

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Webinar on the role of data in Marine Spatial Planning

Written by Pia Wiesner, Blue Solutions Initiative

On August 22, 2017, Blue Solutions hosted the webinar “Do Data or Desires Drive Marine Spatial Planning?” as part of the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet webinar series. We were pleased to have Tundi Agardy from Sound Seas and Forest Trends, Jon Day from James Cook University and Michelle Portman from Technion University on board as presenters for this session.

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Webinar on the Certification of Small-Scale Fisheries

On July 27, 2017, Blue Solutions and the GIZ sector project “Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture” hosted a webinar on the Certification of small-scale fisheries in developing countries: Opportunities and Challenges. The session is part of the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet webinar series.

Please visit the recording.

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Solutions in Focus: community-led MPA management

Written by Marie Fischborn, Blue Solutions Initiative

Coastal communities play a key role as stewards of marine resources such as fish stocks. Around the world, numerous forms of community-led or shared governance of marine areas exist.

In the multimedia article ‘Solutions in Focus: Community-led and shared governance of marine protected and conserved areas’, discover five exciting solutions from Madagascar, Indonesia, Micronesia, Comoros and Costa Rica that showcase how communities can take the lead in protecting marine and coastal environments – for the benefit of both nature and people.

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Webinar on scaling up community-led MPA management

Webinar on Scaling up community-led MPA management

On June 28, 2017, Blue Solutions hosted the webinar Scaling up community-led MPA management as part of the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet webinar series. It featured great PANORAMA solutions, among them inspiring examples from Madagascar and Indonesia. Blue Ventures and Conservation International presented their case studies for scaling up community-led MPA management and identified its key success factors.

The recording of the webinar is available on our Vimeo channel.
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Side Event at the UN Ocean Conference – Blue Solutions Market Place

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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