About Us

As the world embarks on an ambitious journey to effectively conserve a large portion of its ocean (current discussion on beyond 2020 ocean conservation targets include a target of 30% by 2030), it is evident that new management modalities will have to be established to achieve effectiveness and avoid having a large area of paper parks without achieving conservation outcomes. In such context, it is increasingly agreed that Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs) as well as the private sector will have a key role to play. Therefore, empowering these actors and creating the enabling frameworks for them to engage effectively in marine and costal conservation and sustainable use is of paramount importance.

In order to support such development, IUCN has taken the initiative to establish a web portal that will aim at responding to the need of the region and its partners to support the development of a sustainable, inclusive and resilient blue economy where marine and coastal conservation constitute of its key pillar. This initiative, called the Blue Planet Hub (BPH), will catalyse knowledge production and capacity building efforts in the region to enhance effective marine and coastal conservation at scale. It will create an easy access to relevant data, publications and tools to enable sound, effective and informed decision-making and enhance management effectiveness and governance from field managers up to high-level decision makers at national and regional levels.