On the 2nd of November 2021 in the margins of the Glasgow Conference of Parties to the Convention on Climate Change, the Presidents of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panamá announced the formation of one of the world’s largest marine protected areas: the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, or CMAR for its acronym in Spanish.

This initiative will see the four countries join their protected territorial waters and expand them to cover over 500’000 square kilometres of Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. CMAR will be invaluable in the protection and preservation of the unique marine ecosystems and fish populations in the area, particularly against encroachment by illegal and unregulated activities. Australia’s experiences regarding marine protected areas - including the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park - provides certain parallels and lessons of relevance to CMAR. The purpose of this webinar is to explore and discuss the legal, scientific and practical implications in establishing and implementing marine protected areas in Australia and the four signatory countries in Latin America.

Speakers:

COSTA RICA - Cynthia Barzuna Gutiérrez

Vice-Minister of Water & Seas of the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica.

ECUADOR - Walter Schuldt

Director of Environmental and Sustainable Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador & Chief Climate Change Negotiator.

COLOMBIA - Paula Sanmiguel

Deputy Coordinator of Environmental Affairs of the Directorate of Economic, Environmental and Social Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia.

AUSTRALIA - Dr Richard Kenchington

Professor of Marine Environment and Resources Management at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security.

AUSTRALIA - Dr Jon Day

Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University.

Times:

Australia - 9am AEDT - December 3rd, 2021

Ecuador / Colombia / Panamá - 5pm ECT - December 2nd, 2021

Costa Rica - 4pm CST - December 2nd, 2021