Side Event
Challenges and Strategies for the Construction and Implementation of Marine Protected Areas National Systems
Organizer
Ministry of the Environment
Date and Time
23 March 2006 18:30 - 20:15
According to decisions from the Seventh Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 7) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Brazil and all other parties had assumed the Commitment to develop and implement a National Plan for Coastal and Marine Protected Areas, as part of the Work Program for Protected Areas (Decision VII/28). The development process of the Brazilian National Plan started in 2005, and its conclusion and approval will occur by March, 2006. Recognizing the specificities of the marine environment, the Program of Work of Protected Areas of the CDB establishes goals for the marine environment (up to 2012) that differ from those established for the terrestrial environment (up to 2010). Consistent with the Program of work, the Brazilian approach for the coastal and marine environment has been to focus on this environment separately from the terrestrial one, elaborating specific actions such as the use of protected areas in fisheries management, within the unified framework of the National Plan. The purpose of this side-event is to promote a debate between the Parties about the challenges to adopt the goals for coastal and marine protected areas suggested on CDB Work Program on Protected Areas, and to identify opportunities for technical-scientific cooperation. Brazil and other countries will be invited to present their experiences, methodologies and main challenges to develop and implement specific goals for their plans for National Systems for Marine Protected Areas. The countries that will be invited to be part of this event are currently being identified. The co-organizers of this event are: Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis – IBAMA; The Nature Conservancy – TNC; and Conservation International – CI.