On February 7th, 2024 from 14:00-15:00 CET marine protected area expert Professor Mark Costello will present some of the myths and misunderstandings around marine protected areas, some of the “cons” in conservation and some of the evidence for the benefits and disadvantages of MPAs. He will discuss how we can achieve the optimal protection of marine life in meeting the “30by30” global goals through systematic conservation planning and, together with colleagues, present the goals and activities of the MPA Europe project.

MPA Europe will map optimal locations for Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in European seas for a network including high biodiversity of species, habitats, and ecosystems, as well as blue carbon stores. This will enable stakeholders, including national and regional authorities, to design optimal MPA and optimise the inclusion of biodiversity, blue carbon, and ecosystem services in transboundary Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and climate change mitigation plans.

Presentations are available here:

• MPA surprises, myths and misunderstandings, Mark Costello
• MPA Europe – Results & Activities for biodiversity and blue carbon, Anna M Addamo
• MPA Europe – Blue economy and stakeholder engagement, Thanos Smanis

Q&A report is available here.