The 11th edition of the Monaco Blue Initiative (MBI), planned for March 2020 in Monaco, had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In the spirit of resilience and mobilisation, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and the Steering Committee of the Monaco Blue Initiative, wished to keep the momentum going and offer a space for debating and making progress on the themes of the 11th MBI through three online workshops.
A lot was covered during these three sessions. I will, however, cover sessions 1 and 3 more briefly in order to focus on session 2, during which an excellent panel of practitioners, directly involved in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), offered very interesting, practical and pragmatic insights and engaged in a very interesting discussion with their remote audience.
Workshop #1 - May 28th, 2020: How can we place Marine Protected Areas and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures at the centre of international discussions and act collectively for their development?
Held in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, this first session began with a welcome address by the Prince, who mentioned that the COVID-19 situation shows us both how our world is more vulnerable than we thought, but also that we are collectively capable of rapid change if we so decide.
The Prince urged a change in the collective attitude towards the marine environment and marine resources, including with regard to the development and reinforcement of more efficient MPAs, which will require discussions in multilateral forums, but also a more local perspective on how MPAs are managed, with greater involvement by coastal populations.
Read more, HERE.
The Aquaculturists
No comments:
Post a Comment