- Australian Government has opportunity to be global leader in marine conservation at IMPAC5
The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) will be making a presentation on protecting Australia’s oceans at the fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress, IMPAC5, which started in Vancouver on Friday.
IMPAC is the global gathering for experts, advocates, managers, Indigenous leaders and decision makers seeking to protect our oceans through marine protected areas, usually held every four years. This fifth congress is the first since 2017 and has attracted more than 2000 people.
Today AMCS Protected Areas Manager Adele Pedder will give the presentation titled “People, Place and Protection: Achieving 30 x 30 in Australia”, which will explore Australia’s proud legacy of marine protection yet demonstrate how far we have to go if we are to safeguard the health of our oceans, and then outline a pathway to success. AMCS has been campaigning to protect the most special places in Australia’s oceans for nearly 60 years.
The Global Biodiversity Framework, or 30 x 30 agreement, signed at the COP15 biodiversity conference in Montreal in December, is an international commitment to protect 30% of the land and 30% of the ocean by 2030. One of the aims of the IMPAC5 is to find ways to deliver the Global Biodiversity Framework pledges.
AMCS Chief Executive Darren Kindleysides, who is in Canada for IMPAC5, said: “With our oceans facing more threats than ever before and pressure mounting, IMPAC5, is a critical opportunity for the global ocean community to come together to take a stand for ocean protection.
“We know what needs to be done to protect our oceans and marine life. Networks of well-designed and well-funded marine protected areas are the backbone of ocean conservation efforts.
“In the Global Biodiversity Framework, we have a global commitment to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. We hope that the IMPAC5 meeting will find ways to turn those international pledges into reality, with clearer plans on how to achieve them.”
IMPAC is not a decision-making forum, although it ends with a Leadership Forum attended by political and Indigenous leaders and decision makers who are expected to make commitments to ocean protection and advancing marine protected areas
AMCS Protected Areas Manager Adele Pedder said: “The Australian Marine Conservation Society hopes the Australian Government will continue to build its standing as a global leader in marine conservation through its profile and engagement, in particular backing the Global Biodiversity Framework through the Leadership Forum.
“Whilst there is crucial global agreement on protecting 30% of land and 30% of sea, there’s no agreement about how to get there yet. Countries will need to work together at IMPAC5 to begin to make urgent and effective progress towards meeting this important target.”