Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly being used

The representative of the Secretariat will brief on the results of the Sustainable Ocean Initiative Capacity-Building Workshop for West Africa (Dakar, 4 to 8 February 2013), which included a training on EBSAs in support of this workshop. The Secretariat will also provide a brief overview on the EBSA process under the Convention on Biological Diversity, workshop objectives and expected outputs/outcomes of the workshop. Selected experts will also be invited to provide presentations on:
(a) Scientific guidance on the application of EBSA criteria;
(b) Relevant global processes, including FAO's work on vulnerable marine ecosystems;
(c) Overview of relevant scientific programmes at regional scale; and
(d) Regional overview of biogeographic information on open-ocean water and deep-sea habitats and a proposed geographic scope of the workshop.

In decision X/29, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity requested the Executive Secretary to organize a series of regional workshops, with a
primary objective to facilitate the description of ecologically or biologically significant marine
areas through application of scientific criteria in annex I of decision IX/20 as well as other relevant compatible and complementary nationally and intergovernmentally agreed scientific
criteria, as well as the scientific guidance on the identification of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction, which meet the scientific criteria in annex I to decision IX/20.

As part of the Sustainable Ocean Initiative, the Secretariat is convening, with the financial support
from the Government of Japan through the Japan Biodiversity Fund, the Sustainable Ocean Initiative
Capacity-building Workshop in West Africa, from 14 to 18 January 2013, in Senegal. The workshop will
showcase regional experiences focusing on West Africa. It will specifically cover: (i) ecologically or
biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs), and (ii) integrated marine and coastal area management
toward achieving targets 6 and 11 in a holistic manner. The workshop will be implemented in
collaboration with various partners, including interested Parties, relevant UN-Ocean members, the Global
Ocean Biodiversity Initiative, and relevant regional organizations and initiatives. Training materials will
be forwarded to the selected experts and posted on the CBD website in due course. T

COP 11 will include a high-level ministerial segment organized by the host country in consultation with the Secretariat and the Bureau. The high‑level segment will take place from 17 to 19 October 2012

The provisional agenda for the meeting includes:
2. Strengthening capacities for:
(a) Adapting and mitigating climate change, including integration of protected areas into wider land- and seascapes;
(b) Developing national action plans for implementation of the programme of work on protected areas;
(c) Marine protected areas;
(d) Governance;
(e) Valuation of the costs and benefits of protected areas, including ecosystem services;
(f) Funding opportunities under the fifth replenishment cycle of the Global Environment Facility (GEF 5).

The provisional agenda for the meeting includes:
2. Strengthening capacities for:
(a) Adapting and mitigating climate change, including integration of protected areas into wider land- and seascapes;
(b) Developing national action plans for implementation of the programme of work on protected areas;
(c) Marine protected areas;
(d) Governance;
(e) Valuation of the costs and benefits of protected areas, including ecosystem services;
(f) Funding opportunities under the fifth replenishment cycle of the Global Environment Facility (GEF 5).

This meeting will discuss the Aichi Biodiversity goals

Workshop to discuss implementation of PoWPA in East and Southern Africa

The 2011 International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC) represents the second stand-alone marine conservation meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology's (SCB) Marine Section. The first IMCC in Washington DC, 2009, attracted over 1200 participants. This landmark Congress will serve to unite the marine conservation community and develop new and powerful tools to further marine conservation science and policy.

The Challenge:There is now wide consensus that management of human activities using natural resources must take into account direct and indirect impacts they may have.