A bumper edition of the GOBI newsletter is out! In it there are articles on: how seabird tracking data have, for the first time ever, been instrumental in the designation of a marine protected area on the high seas how the process of designation of Important Marine Mammal Areas continues apace, overcoming the restrictions imposedContinue Reading New GOBI newsletter out now!

Building on the success and achievements from GOBI’s five-year programme of work funded through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), a further two years of work has been approved to build on these results and implement them in a regional setting.  The extension recognises the value of GOBI’s continuing input to the science base underpinning the EBSAContinue Reading GOBI research awarded a two-year extension

On Thursday 28 October 2021, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) launched a new report to celebrate their decade-long efforts to describe and recognise Ecologically or Biologically Significant marine Areas (EBSAs) across the globe – GOBI was set up partly to assist with this effort. A decade of dedicated action by scientists, conservationists and facilitatorsContinue Reading Celebrating a decade of EBSAs

After years of focused campaigning, and backed by state-of-the-art scientific evidence, a new marine protected area (MPA) has been designated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Sea marine protected area – or NACES MPA – was designated by the 15 countries (and the EU) that are signatories to the OSPARContinue Reading New High Seas MPA in the North Atlantic

GOBI’s intention to be physically present at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France, took a blow when – due to the Covid-19 pandemic – its intended in-person Thematic Session was recategorised by the congress organisers as a virtual Speaker Pitch session. As a result of the change of format, the GOBI contribution nowContinue Reading GOBI at IUCN World Conservation Congress

The French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM), in collaboration with Costa Rica’s Fundación MarViva, the Sargasso Sea Commission and the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB), have announced the launch of a new project to protect and manage remarkable areas of the high seas, namely the Costa Rica Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea.  The project is toContinue Reading New hybrid governance scheme project kick-off

Banish those lockdown blues with a peek into the latest edition of the GOBI Newsletter, where some of the latest progress on ocean science and management is reported. Topics addressed include: the importance of local, regional and global networks for cooperation in conservation South Africa’s progressive approach to achieve Aichi Targets how the behaviour ofContinue Reading GOBI Newsletter summer 2021 edition out now!

The Bazaruto Archipelago to Inhambane Bay IMMA has formed the basis of a proposed Environmental Protection Area (EPA) in Mozambique, as recommended by Conservation International. The proposed EPA corresponds with the extent of the Bazaruto Archipelago to Inhambane Bay IMMA identified during the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Seas IMMA Workshop held in March 2019.  TheContinue Reading Success story for IMMA uptake in conservation

Global lockdown has been no obstacle for the IUCN Marine Mammal Protection Area Task Force (MMPATF) and IMMA Secretariat, who have just delivered their first ever virtual IMMA workshop (22-26 February 2021), targeting the Black Sea, Turkish Straits System and Caspian Sea Region.  This unscheduled workshop arose out of the gap left by the postponement (dueContinue Reading Virtual IMMA workshop breaks new ground