Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA4) begins in Mexico

Nov. 14, 2016. The fourth International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA 4), which begins today in Puerto Vallarta, México, will focus on “Forging Partnerships and Planning for Protection”. The primary goal of ICMMPA 4 (Nov. 13-17, 2016) is to provide a forum for sharing information on successful and not so successful approaches to managing and monitoring protected areas with marine mammals. The conference features panels, workshops, talks, and posters to highlight “lessons learned” in partnerships involving government, NGOs, industry, and conservation groups. Special emphasis will be placed on effective strategies and emerging technology for marine spatial planning and monitoring MPAs. 

Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) and their role on the high seas will be a featured topic with speakers including Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Mike Tetley and Simone Panigada, fresh from Chania, Greece, where they hosted the first IMMA workshop which selected 41 candidate IMMAs covering the habitats of Mediterranean marine mammal species (see marinemammalhabitat.org).

The biennial conference, co-sponsored by WDC, will build on initiatives generated from the first three conferences to advance the understanding of science, management, and effective biodiversity conservation in protected areas. The conference will include both English and Spanish speakers with bilingual plenary and workshop sessions.

For more information about the meeting, see icmmpa.org.