9th Our Ocean Conference x LIFE MareNatura side – event

Greece will host the 9th Our Ocean Conference in Athens, at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, April 15 – 17. The Our Ocean Conference was first launched under the initiative of the U.S. Department of State in 2014. Since then, it has gradually become a forum for dialogue that brings together governments, international organizations, academia, the private sector, and NGOs that share a common vision for the protection of the oceans and take action to support this vision. So far, until the last Our Ocean Conference that was held in Panama, the conference has managed to gather more than 2160 commitments worth almost US$ 130 billion, distributed in the six thematic areas addressed in the conference.
MEDASSET and the Green Tank and in collaboration with HCMR, ISRPA, NECCA, UAegean, UoC, NOA, HOS, MOm, ARCHELON, NCC, Waterproof are organizing a side – event April 15, 2024, at 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm in the Multifunctional Room 1.
This side event will explore opportunities and challenges that arise from the designation of the new marine protected areas, in line with the national, EU and global 2030 target of designating 30% of the marine areas as protected. Through a structured and interactive dialogue, leading technical and policy experts will engage in an exchange of knowledge, experience and best practices. The side event is hosted by the LIFE MareNatura project which will contribute significantly to the scientific documentation of the ecological value of the marine areas, Greece intends to declare as Marine Protected Areas, to achieve the “30 * 30” goal.

Speakers:

• Anis Zarrouk – Biodiversity Programme Coordinator, Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (SPA/RAC)
• Mercedes Muñoz Cañas – Programme coordinator, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• Oliver Yates Head – International Marine Programme, BirdLife International
• Nadia Andreanidou – Programmes & Policy Officer, MEDASSET
• Ioli Christopoulou – Partner & Policy Director, The Green Tank
• Panagiotis Kasapidis – Senior Researcher, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR)

The invitation of the event is available here: LIFE MareNatura OOC sideevent invitation