A look back at IMCC7

The BRIDGES research program was honored to participate in the 7th International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC7), held last week in Cape Town. The event brought together over 800 delegates from around the world, with more than 130 sessions focusing on innovative approaches to marine conservation, sustainability and public policy.

In addition to various presentations by the BRIDGES Team researchers, the Program actively contributed to the event through two major interventions:

Panel discussion on “Transformations of socio-ecological systems as pathways to conservation”
Led by BRIDGES-IMPACT co-leader Adrien Comte, this session generated key discussions on the levers for transforming socio-ecological systems. Key ideas emerged on the levers of transformation, sparking lively discussions on how these lessons can be applied on a global scale. Laura Pereira, researcher and professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and expert for the IPBESTask Force on scenarios and models: “Very interesting to hear about the specific BRIDGES case studies that have the potential to unpack transformation theories in practice”. With 30 participants from around the world, the session explored four case studies:
- Pelagic fisheries in the Indian Ocean region
- Crab fishing in Madagascar
- Co-management in Tanzania
- Seabird bycatch in South Africa
Presentation of SIOMPA projects
On Saturday, Rodolphe Devillers, co-leader of BRIDGES-IMPACT, organized a workshop devoted to the SIOMPA projects (Ecological Connectivity to Maximize Biodiversity Conservation between Marine Protected Areas in the South West Indian Ocean). With some 30 face-to-face and 10 online participants, the session presented the various winning projects and the importance of ecological connectivity in the Mozambique Channel. Find out more in the news article dedicated to that day.

This event was not only an opportunity to share our ambitions, but also to strengthen existing collaborations and create new ones with key players in the global conservation community. We leave IMCC7 with new inspirations and potential new collaborations for research that contributes to healthy oceans for protected fisheries.

Check out our short video of the event on our LinkedIn account for more highlights!