Dear all, The following workshop, facilitated by Planet Whale in collaboration withthe University of California Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute, will be held at the forthcoming ECS Conference in Setubal, Portugal, Saturday 6 April 2013 * * *USING COLLABORATIVE OCEAN GEODESIGN TO IDENTIFY MARINE PROTECTED AREAS FOR CETACEANS* * * Although there is an urgent need to expand upon the current number of designated Marine Protected Areas for cetaceans, there are many issues restricting our ability to do so. These include a continued lack of data on the critical habitat for many species, only limited identification of potential MPAs, and restrictions placed upon scientists and managers by current legislation. This interactive workshop will look at the potential for both the scientific and wider stakeholder communities to use collaborative ocean geodesign technology to identify MPAs for cetaceans and develop management plans with the potential for widespread implementation and successful application. Collaborative ocean geodesign combines sophisticated online mapping technology with social media such as forums to address site management issues. Mapped areas requiring management are drawn by stakeholders who can then make plans to deal with the issues affecting those areas. The maps and plans are then released to other stakeholders for review. The result is a cost-effective and engaging way to define priority MPAs and develop effective management plans supported by the wider stakeholder community, thereby significantly improving their chances of being designated. In this workshop we plan to use the SeaSketch tool, kindly made available by Dr Will McClintock and colleagues at the University of California Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute. We would like to encourage participants to attend from a wide range of backgrounds both within the scientific community and beyond. The workshop will be designed to engage and involve all participants regardless of experience. Your interest in the subject is all that we require. Presentations will be kept to an absolute minimum. Instead, sessions will be group-based, challenging, instructive, inspiring, and fun, and we anticipate outputs which will contribute to progress and inform further planned debate on this issue. The workshop will be split into three sessions: 1. Setting the criteria for cetacean MPAs. What’s important to you? 2. Live mapping workshop. Map your ‘Area of Concern’, share your management solutions and adapt your plans based on the advice of others. 3. Empower the stakeholder community. Successful MPAs often have management plans that involve and engage coastal communities and local marine users. How can we improve our chances of designation and implementation by ensuring everybody has their say from the beginning? This workshop will focus on mapping potential MPAs in European waters, including regions covered by both ASCOBANS and ACCOBAMS. We therefore welcome participants planning to attend the workshop organised for the following day by Peter Evans and colleagues, entitled ‘The challenge of spatially managing cetaceans – a highly mobile animal group’. We hope that our outputs will help to inform discussions on the following day. The workshop will start at 9.30 am and finish at 6.00 pm. There will be a charge of €25 per person. Anyone interested in participating or offering to share their experiences relating to any of the three sessions please contact me at dylan@planetwhale.com. There are also two places available for volunteers to assist with the workshop (thereby avoiding the fee). Further information and an itinerary will be emailed to participants in March. Regards, Dylan Walker Co-founder, Planet Whale www.planetwhale.com dylan@planetwhale.com Tel: +44 (0)1273 355011 Skype: planet.whale