The 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) successfully concluded on February 9, 2023 at Vancouver, Canada.
Key highlights
- The IMPAC5 was held from February 3 to 9, 2023 and jointly hosted by the Government of Canada alongside First Nations—Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh.
- IMPAC5 is a global forum that brings together ocean conservation professionals and high-level officials to inform, inspire and act on marine protected areas.
- Attendees emphasized the importance of global cooperation in achieving marine conservation targets and focused on the essential role of Indigenous-led conservation efforts.
- Participants also addressed the need for increased protection of biodiversity through the use of marine protected areas (MPA) and highlighted the role of marine conservation financing in achieving shared commitments, including conservation goals of conserving 30 per cent of its oceans by 2030.
- Roughly 10 million square kilometres of the ocean must be annually brought under Marine Protected Areas (MPA) to protect 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030.
- Countries set a target of protecting 30 per cent of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030 at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held in 2022.
- Currently, MPAs represent only about 6 per cent of the ocean. Of this, 2.4 per cent are fully and highly protected and 3.6 per cent are highly protected. The remaining 0.8 per cent are designated and 2 per cent have been proposed and committed.
- The expert called for efforts to establish and deploy science-based decision-support tools to ensure that 18 million square kilometres of new MPAs are climate-smart.
About Marine protected areas (MPA)
- An MPA is a marine protected area that provides protection for all or part of its natural resources.
- Certain activities within an MPA are limited or prohibited to meet specific conservation, habitat protection, ecosystem monitoring, or fisheries management objectives.
- National governments establish many MPAs. State, local, and tribal governments also establish MPAs.
