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 on 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 in Sumilon Island in the Philippines, and who passed away on February 1, 2023.
 Daniel Pauly at the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress, February 5, 2023. Photo by IISD, IMPAC 5 |
 Daniel Pauly presenting at the IMPAC 5, February 5, 2023. Photo by Emma McKinley, Twitter |
Watch Dr. Pauly’s full presentation at IMPAC5 via YouTube here.
This article originally appeared on the Sea Around Us website.
