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The First International Marine Protected Areas Congress

Geelong, Australia 23-28 October 2005

IMPAC1 has concluded

Background
In 2002 it was suggested that Australia, an acknowledged world leader in marine planning and management, should host an international congress specifically on marine protected areas (MPAs).

An organizing committee, comprising representatives of Parks Victoria, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Department of the Environment and Heritage, and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, together with IUCN and its World Commission on Protected Areas, set about to promote, plan and stage the first International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC1). Such an international event had never previously been held, so there was considerable uncertainty throughout the planning stages.

Over 40 international experts collaborated within and across working groups formed for each of the Themes and Issues. There are too many experts to mention individually here, but their tasks included the initial assessment of over 630 abstracts, from which they determined the final oral program. Their efforts are very much appreciated, with the high quality technical program that they developed proving to be a fundamental part of the success of IMPAC1.

The outcome in October 2005 was a highly successful and timely congress in Geelong, along with various associated events. Many of the world’s leading MPA practitioners, policy makers and scientists attended, providing an excellent opportunity for effective interaction and learning.
IMPAC1 has now been recognised as a world-class professional and memorable event, which we hope will set a precedent for future such congresses.The Organising Committee would particularly like to thank the staff of ASN Events P/L for their tremendous efforts before, during and after the congress; similarly, thanks also to Nanotek Design for compiling and finalizing the proceedings.

Finally, thank you to all the congress delegates, sponsors, committee members and their associated organizations for being a part of the outstanding success of IMPAC1!

Proceedings
One of the most comprehensive collations of information about marine protected areas (MPAs) is now publicly available on the web and easily searchable for any related topic or keyword. The proceedings for the First International Marine Protected Areas Congress 2005 are now available on the IMPAC1 website (see below). The Proceedings include transcriptions of all plenary presentations, the 1500 word extended abstracts from oral concurrent sessions, the 250 word abstracts of posters, an indexed list of presentations, list of delegates with e-mail contact, sponsors recognition, and appropriate acknowledgements together with an array of photographs.

Please click here to go to the proceedings

IMPAC 2

IMPAC2 ANNOUNCEMENT
The IMPAC1 Organising Committee is pleased to announce that the Marine Section of the Society for Conservation Biology has agreed to incorporate IMPAC2 into the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC) to be held at George Mason University just outside Washington DC, US between 20-24 May 2009.

IMCC will be an interdisciplinary meeting, aimed at advancing marine conservation by facilitating discussion among natural and social scientists, managers and policy makers.
Major congress themes will be:
            • Global Climate Change
            • Land-Sea Interface
            • Poverty and Globalization
            • Ecosystem-based Management

To address the most pressing marine conservation issues, IMCC will hold plenary talks and solicit creative submissions for contributed presentations, symposia and workshops. The goal of IMCC is to put conservation science into practice through public and media outreach, and the development of science-based products that inform policy change and implementation. In addition to normal conferencing formats, workshops will bring together people with diverse expertise with the goal of developing a list of recommendations, policy briefings or a position paper on a specific topic.

Preliminary congress details, including a flyer for IMCC, can be found at the website <http://www.conbio.org/IMCC>. The website will be periodically updated, providing further congress information and volunteer opportunities. The call for papers, symposia and workshops for IMCC is current.

Links with IMPAC1

IMCC will serve as the 2^nd International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC2) and will maintain the scope and vision of IMPAC1.
Jon Day and John Senior from the IMPAC1 Organising Committee are both on the IMCC Steering Committee. In November 2007, both were the guests of the IMCC/IMPAC2 Organising Committee in the US where they were able to add value and provide advice for planning the new event.

IMCC has the full support of IUCN and WCPA-Marine, with formal endorsement currently being arranged.

Interested in supporting IMCC/IMPAC2?

If you or your agency are interested in supporting IMCC, pls email the IMCC Chair, John Cigliano <John.Cigliano@cedarcrest.edu>

Sponsors The following sponsors are acknowledged and thanked for their respective contributions to making IMPAC1 a success.

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