The IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 (Sidney, 12-19 November 2014) is a landmark global forum on protected areas. The Congress will share knowledge and innovation, setting the agenda for protected areas conservation for the decade to come. Building on the theme “Parks, people, planet: inspiring solutions“, it will present, discuss and create original approaches for conservation and development, helping to address the gap in the conservation and sustainable development agenda.
Cross-cutting themes are topics that are relevant to multiple streams. Each theme will be incorporated as a specific focus of the streams and will form an integral part of the overall programme. The focus afforded to these issues means that they will allow special interest groups and initiatives to cluster their efforts and for participants to the World Parks Congress to follow a particular thematic journey across the different streams, and to inspire bold new directions for each theme.
The “marine” theme will focus on how to design and manage Marine Protected Areas and their networks to address the key challenges considered across the Congress’ streams. Marine issues will be clustered around three sub-themes: Invest More, increasing the investment of funds, time, and partners in Marine Protected Areas; Involve More, engaging a broader range of stakeholders, building new partnerships, and moving from awareness to action; and Protect More, expanding the use of Marine Protected Areas to achieve conservation goals and maximize their effectiveness. The Congress will facilitate the sharing of experiences, foster alliances, and highlight both achievements of and new commitments by the Marine Protected Areas community.
ICRI and some ICRI members will held several events, including:
| Date Time | Location | Title | Sessions/Events | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, November 15th, 8:30 am – 9:00 am | Ocean+ Pavilion | The launch of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)’s Continuing Call to Action | Ocean + Pavilion | Launch Event |
| Brief description: This session will launch the ICRI Continuing Call to Action, adopted at ICRI’s 28th General Meeting in Belize in October 2013. It will involve a mix of inspirational speakers and a short movie, aiming at inspiring the audience to get into action to save our precious coral reefs. | ||||
| Monday, November 17th; 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Hall 3B2 | Rising to the challenge: sustainable financing of protected areas | Stream 4 – Supporting Human Life | Panel Discussion |
| Brief description: In spite of growing budgetary needs, government and ODA financing to PAs has become increasingly constrained in recent years. Therefore, innovative financing to bring additional funds has become an essential element of successful PA management. The objective of this session is to provide an overview of different ways and means of mobilizing additional financial resources. Drawing on real world examples, the presentations focus on identifying new resources as well as developing new financial tools to catalyzing private investments. The plenary discussions will critically examine the potential of these mechanisms in strengthening the financial sustainability of protected areas and explore better ways to augment funds for achieving conservation and sustainable management goals of PAs. The session is jointly organized by FAO, IUCN-WCPA (World Commission on Protected Areas), ITTO, and the Ministry of Environment of Japan. Nicolas Pascal, ICRI-CRIOBE, will be one of the key speakers> | ||||
| Tuesday, November 18th, 5:15 pm – 6:15 pm | Touchscreen 1 | Climate Change (Capacity Development, World Heritage, Marine and New Social Compact) rapid fire presentations | Touchscreen 1 | ePoster |
Other coral reefs events will include:
| Date Time | Location | Title | Sessions/Events | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, November 13th, 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm | Ocean+ Pavilion | The Reactive Reefs Exhibition – Telling the story of how the world’s reefs are changing and adapting using UAV Fluid Lensing and underwater giga-pixel imagery | Ocean + Pavilion | Dialogue |
| Thursday, November 13th, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm | Howie Complex | Celebrating Achievements in the Coral Triangle | Congress Events | Welcome Ceremony |
| Friday, November 14th, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm | Capacity Development Room | Coral Triangle marine protected area system development and capacity needs – Flyer (PDF File) | Capacity Development Room Sessions | Workshop |
| Friday, November 14th, 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm | Ocean+ Pavilion | Eye on the Reef: be a marine biologist for a day! (Live link-up to the Reef) | Ocean + Pavilion | Dialogue |
| Saturday, November 15th, 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Southee South | Building resilience and adaptation in marine ecosystems: case studies | Stream 2 – Responding to Climate Change | Panel Discussion |
| Saturday, November 15th, 7:30 pm – 8:00 pm | Nature Based Solutions Pavilion | Conservation for corals or turtles? | Nature Based Solutions Pavilion | Lecture |
| Monday, November 17th, 8:30 am – 9:00 am | Ocean+ Pavilion | The Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve | Ocean + Pavilion | Lecture |
| Monday, November 17th, 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm |
Amphitheatre | Land/Sea Connections: Building a coalition for protection from ridges to reefs | Congress Events | Dialogue |
| Tuesday, November 18th, 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm | Ocean+ Pavilion | The status and problems of Japanese oceans (from icebergs to coral reefs) | Ocean + Pavilion | Dialogue |
| Tuesday, November 18th, 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Ocean+ Pavilion | How can we build ES (ecosystem services) into wider prioritisation for MPAs? | Ocean + Pavilion | Dialogue |
| Tuesday, November 18th, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm | Playfair Room 1 | Ocean conservation at scale: linking local to regional initiatives across the Indo-Pacific | Congress Events | Panel Discussion |
| Tuesday, November 18th, 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm | Skydeck | Mua – Guided by Nature | Congress Events | Dialogue |
| Wednesday, November 19th, 11:30 am – 12:00 pm | Ocean+ Pavilion | A partnership for the Mozambique Channel | Ocean + Pavilion | Dialogue |