This webinar originally aired on 28 May 2020.

Presented by: Charlie Wahle, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, National Marine Protected Areas Center, NOAA

Over the past two decades, marine protected areas (MPAs) in the US have evolved from a poorly understood ocean management measure to a more proven and increasingly common conservation tool to protect the ocean’s most important places and the social and economic benefits they provide. In May 2020, NOAA’s National Marine Protected Areas Center marks 20 years of collaborative work to inform and catalyze that transformation by providing critical information and tools to support and strengthen MPA programs in the United States and internationally. This presentation will discuss the issues that led to Executive Order on Marine Protected Areas in May 2000; highlight key contributions of the MPA Center in the US and globally; and chart the course forward to meet today’s emerging ocean challenges.

Co-sponsors: NOAA National MPA Center and OCTO (MPA News, OpenChannels, EBM Tools Network)