International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA) Conference (April 8–12, 2019, Greece)

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The International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA), is a group of international experts dedicated to the protection of marine mammals and their habitats. Since 2009, the ICMMPA has been organizing ICMMPA conferences every other year with special focus on the Americas, held in chronological order in Hawaii, Martinique, Australia, and Mexico, that serve as an important forum for marine mammal protected area practitioners.

In 2019, ICMMPA is reaching a key milestone; its 10th anniversary since its foundation and first conference. The 5th conference will take place for the first time in Europe and specifically in the Mediterranean region. Hosting the ICMMPA5 in Greece will provide a unique opportunity to promote the protection of marine mammals at the national, Mediterranean, and European level and advance practical solutions to common problems in marine conservation.

Location: The Westin Resort, Costa Navarino, in Messinia, Greece
Date: April 8–12, 2019

The conference will feature interactive panels designed to allow participants to engage in discussions with speakers, focused workshop sessions to provide concrete outputs, training sessions, and additional opportunities to share the considerable and extensive expertise and experience of MMPA practitioners and those who guide, advise, and support the implementation of these initiatives. Special effort will be made to support conference participation not only from the Mediterranean and Europe, but also from previously underrepresented regions (e.g. Black Sea, Middle East, Red Sea and tropical Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean countries and islands of West Africa). The conference will build on initiatives generated from the past four conferences to advance our understanding of science, management, and effective biodiversity conservation in protected areas. In addition, the conference will provide updates on plans for the worldwide Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) initiative (marinemammalhabitat.org).

Call for themed abstracts coming soon. For more information and to view proceedings from past conferences visit http:www.icmmpa.org.

To receive a sponsorship package, or for more information, contact: Naomi McIntosh, Chair, ICMMPA (naomi.mcintosh@noaa.gov) or Amalia Alberini, Conference Co-Host, WWF Greece (info_ICMMPA5@wwf.gr)