Earthwatch lecture at the Royal Geographical Society, London, SW7 2AR, on May 14th 2015, Turning the Tide: Coastal Communities and Conservation: http://eu.earthwatch.org/events/2015/03/23/turning-the-tide-coastal-communit... The Lecture starts at 7.00pm. Please book your free ticket at the link above. Tropical coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds are some of the most biodiverse in the world and have essential economic functions. More than 10% of the world's population rely on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods, with global production almost doubling from the mid-1990s to 2012. Yet threats to coastal biodiversity from over-exploitation and climate change could have profound implications on ecosystem function and human well-being. Join us to hear how three leading scientists are working with local communities and stakeholders to find sustainable solutions for the long-term benefit of people and nature: * Professor Mark Huxham is Director of Academic Strategy at Edinburgh Napier University, the founding director of the Association for Coastal Ecosystem Services and leader of an Earthwatch research and conservation project in Kenya to restore mangroves - the first community based mangrove conservation project to be funded by carbon credits. * Professor David J. Smith is a senior lecturer in marine biology at the University of Essex and Director of the Coral Reef Research Unit; senior advisor to the Institute of Marine Environmental Research in the Aegean Sea and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He leads the Earthwatch coral reef research project in the Seychelles. * Professor Jennifer Smith is an Associate Professor in Marine Ecology and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, California. She will be leading a new Earthwatch project looking at the ecological impacts of seaweed farming in Indonesia and the susceptibility of seaweed farms to environmental change. Professor Martin Attrill, Chair of this event, is director of the Marine Institute at the University of Plymouth. Prof Attrill is a marine ecologist whose primary research interest is focused on the mechanisms behind long-term change and large-scale spatial patterns in marine assemblages and populations. He has been working with long-term data within a range of habitats such as the Thames Estuary, Brazilian coral reefs and the open Atlantic Ocean, including investigating the role of climate variation on fish, corals and plankton. He has published 100 papers in the prime literature, primarily on fish and benthic systems such as seagrass, and has current projects investigating the roles of Marine Protected Areas and their interaction with fishing (including a novel research partnership with the Blue Marine Foundation and local fishermen to undertake research into sustainable fishing with MPAs) and impacts of offshore renewable energy developments. Please do circulate the link within your networks and tweet #EWtideturn Any questions, contact Jenny Cousins at jcousins@earthwatch.org.uk