IMPAC5 keynote speakers Hinano Teavai-Murphy, Ruth Mthembu, and Daniel Pauly.
The Sea Around Us principal investigator, Dr. Daniel Pauly, is among the speakers that will be giving keynote presentations at the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) being held in Vancouver, Canada on February 3-9, 2023.
Together with Dr. Pauly will be Hinano Teavai-Murphy, a widely-recognized expert in Tahitian cultural history who has lectured around the world on traditional Polynesian knowledge and its intersection with science, conservation, and environmental philosophy; Ruth Mthembu, member of the IMPAC5 Young Professional Committee where she focuses on developing an intergenerational mentoring program for IMPAC5 participants; Michael Vegh, Háɫcístut Implementation Manager for Heiltsuk Tribal Council; Sylvia Earle who, among many other things, is a National Geographic Society Explorer at Large, founder and co-chair of Mission Blue, and founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, and Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier, founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers and co-founder of the non-profit organization SeaLegacy.
The goal of IMPAC5 is for the global marine protection community to gather and chart a course toward protecting 30 per cent of the global ocean by 2030.
Each of the keynote presentations will be focused on one of the five main themes around which the congress will develop. Dr. Pauly will be presenting on Sunday, February 5th at 8:45 a.m. on the theme of managing marine protected areas and human activity; Ms. Teavai-Murphy will be presenting on the theme of ocean, culture and human well-being, and Ms. Mthembu will be presenting on the theme of building a global marine protected areas network.
The other two central themes of the conference are conserving biodiversity and addressing the climate crisis and advancing conservation in the blue economy.
According to IMPAC5 organizers, in addition to the opening keynotes, each day of IMPAC5 will feature dozens of presenters chosen to address topics within the five main themes.
The new event is expected to build on the successes and failures of the previous editions held in Geelong, Australia in 2005; Washington, D.C., United States of America in 2009; Marseille, France in 2013, and La Serena, Chile in 2017.
More information on the keynote speakers and the program can be found at www.impac5.ca/congress-details.