27 November, 2024

IFOP researchers attend “Southeast Pacific Meeting: Committed to a Sustainable Ocean” held in Panama

November 27th, 2024 Periodista Gabriela.Gutiérrez

Between November 20 and 22, the “Southeast Pacific Meeting: Committed to a Sustainable Ocean” took place in Panama City. This event was organized within the context of the “Save the Blue Five” project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and implemented by the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific (CPPS), the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), Conservation International (CI) and MarViva (MV).

The event was attended by nearly 300 attendees from 6 countries (Chile, including Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama).

Save the Blue Five is a regional project that seeks to protect migratory marine megafauna in the Southeastern Pacific Region (SEPR) from Costa Rica to Chile, which comprises an oceanic province of 20 million km2, home to diverse groups and species such as whales, dolphins, sharks, sea turtles and manta rays, known as Blue 5 species. Through this initiative, it is intended to contribute to countries with actions that promote the strengthening of the regional policy framework for the conservation and sustainable use of marine megafauna and promote the implementation of coordinated measures at local, national and regional levels.

The purpose of the meeting was to promote regional dialogue and collaboration for marine conservation in the SEPR region among relevant actors from different sectors in which opportunities, good practices, innovation and commitments will be identified.

The Chilean delegation was made up of 33 people, representatives of public institutions such as the Environment, Climate Change and Oceans Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the General Directorate of Maritime Interests and Merchant Marine and the Ministry of the Environment, among others, as well as researchers from different national universities, representatives of local communities and young leaders. From IFOP, Dr. Patricia Zárate from the Department of Oceanography and Environment and Dr. Daniela Díaz, Head of Cooperation at IFOP, participated.

During the meeting, different talks, workshops and parallel events were held, in various formats.

Dr. Daniela Díaz participated in the following parallel events:

“Initiatives in Action for the Blue Five: Pitch for the selection of winners”, where 12 initiatives were presented to promote the conservation of the B5 and the sustainable use of marine biodiversity, and grants were awarded to 5 of them for their implementation.

“BBNJ Agreement Workshop: Challenges and Opportunities in the region”, where different views were presented on the contribution of regional organizations to the implementation of the United Nations Treaty Agreement for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

Dr. Patricia Zárate was invited to the event because she is a specialist in sea turtles and large pelagic species and because she is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Regional Plan for Sea Turtles of the Permanent Commission of the Southeast Pacific. She participated in the following parallel events:

“Marine protected areas and the five blues in the Southeast Pacific region”, where management measures were designated for the conservation of marine protected areas with conservation values ​​for the five blues. In this workshop, the work was carried out in groups that involved specialists of the species that make up the 5 groups of animals that came from the countries of the region.

“Conservation in the Eastern Pacific: Facing the challenges of climate change for the biodiversity of the region”.

“Solutions for the protection of the Blue Five” where 7 projects of good practices documented within the framework of the “Save the Blue Five” project were simultaneously presented.

Dr. Zárate comments, our institution has vast experience and specialists who will be a valuable contribution to the objectives of the “Save the Blue Five” project, which in turn, through this event and future instances to be developed, will provide a platform to share scientific research, experiences and best practices, which will contribute to the effective policies and strategies of our country and the countries involved in this regional initiative.