What is the difference between marine protected areas that actually work and paper parks?
With the premise in mind, the Sea Around Us principal investigator, Dr. Daniel Pauly, offered a keynote presentation at the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5), held in Vancouver from February 3 to February 9, 2023.
Dr. Pauly’s presentation, titled “Marine protected areas: the pioneers, growth and prospects,” took place on Sunday, February 5th, before an audience of about 200 people gathered at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Besides touching upon the “obviousness” of how beneficial marine protected areas are to protect biodiversity, restore fish populations and increase fisheries yields, Dr. Pauly also showed some examples of policies and strategies that actually support effective MPAs versus policies that end up in failed implementations. This latter idea is framed within the thesis work of Dr. Veronica Relano, Dr. Pauly’s “last” PhD student.
The Sea Around Us PI also used the opportunity to pay tribute to the pioneers of MPAs, namely, Julia Platt, Bill Ballantine and, especially, Angel C. Alcala, who established one of the earliest marine protected areas in the world on Sumilon Island in the Philippines, and who passed away on February 1, 2023.
To watch Dr. Pauly’s full presentation at IMPAC5, press the play button on the video below.
The Congress was also an opportunity to meet with old and new friends and colleagues.
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- Daniel Pauly, Sylvia Earle and Rashid Sumaila
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- Charles Clover, Veronica Relano, Daniel Pauly
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- The Galapagos representation
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- Daniel Pauly and Jessika Woroniak
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- The New Caledonia representation
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- Robin Ramdeen, Daniel Pauly and Nicola Smith