Open Seminar on Marine Protected Areas

Carl Höjman (left) and Joan Fabres (right).

An open seminar will be held at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute Thursday 29 January at 12.30, both on-site and online. The link to the online meeting is here.

The title of the talk is: Knowledge synthesis on the effects of marine protected areas on ecosystem functioning. Below is further information about the content of the talk and the speakers. 

We have committed to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and thereby to conserving 30% of areas by 2030. This may be perceived as a victory for nature, but it is also associated with several challenges. For protection to function as effectively as possible for both nature and users of the sea, it is important to understand how marine protected areas and other conservation measures work, and what is required to achieve the best possible conservation outcomes while at the same time taking other important interests into account.

At SALT, we work extensively on these issues, and together with the Institute of Marine Research we have prepared a Knowledge synthesis on the effects of marine protected areas on ecosystem functioning, commissioned by the Norwegian Environment Agency. In this work, we review the available literature on the biological effects of marine protection and seek to place it within a Northern European context. We examine global review studies as well as original research literature from the North Atlantic to summarize experiences with different types of protected areas. Finally, we review both scientific literature and grey literature from Norway’s adjacent marine areas to capture a broad range of findings from the marine regions that are most relevant to us and our neighbouring countries.

Joan Fabres holds a PhD in Marine Geology from the University of Barcelona and leads the marine management area at SALT where he oversees a broad portfolio of projects related to management of coastal areas in Norway and surrounding areas. These projects span from fisheries management, area management, coastal zone planning and lately marine protected areas management. Joan has a researcher background om marine biochemistry and sedimentology and before joining SALT worked for many years with marine science and knowledge dissemination.

Carl Höjman holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science and a master's degree in Sustainable Business Leadership from Lund University in Sweden. At SALT, Carl leads the marine litter area. He is part of SALT's management team and is the project manager for several of SALT's major projects within marine litter. Prior to SALT, he has experience as a sustainability advisor in Sweden since 2010.