Invitation to participate in SMM pre-conference half-day workshop: Blue Corridors – including a Caribbean and North Atlantic deep dive
Title: Blue Corridors Workshop – Lessons learned Co-designing Global and Regional Collaborative Connectivity Conservation Strategies Oct 17 8:30-12:30 With: Chris Johnson (WWF), Nathalie Houtman (WWF) and partners including the Blue Corridors Initiative Highly mobile marine mammals depend on ecological connectivity across vast ocean regions that span national boundaries and the high seas. For whales, these migratory pathways—known as blue corridors—link critical feeding, breeding, and resting habitats, yet remain inadequately incorporated into marine mammal research, marine spatial planning, and ocean governance. As anthropogenic pressures intensify along migration routes, there is an urgent need to translate connectivity science into coordinated, implementable conservation strategies. This half-day workshop shares lessons from WWF’s implementation of co-designed conservation strategies developed with partners through global and regional reports and participatory workshops. Building on advances in global migration mapping from whale satellite tracking data and the development of BlueCorridors.org—an open-access platform supporting science-based decision-making—the workshop bridges data, policy, and practice through regional case studies. It highlights interdisciplinary engagement among marine mammal scientists, conservation practitioners, policymakers, Indigenous and local knowledge holders, NGOs, and industry representatives. In the workshop, we will explore how migratory connectivity strategies can be implemented across scales, from global assessments to regional implementation. The workshop will examine practical applications of blue corridors science in shipping management, fisheries bycatch mitigation, marine protected area network design, and transboundary policy frameworks. Case studies from several regions will be used to ground discussions in real-world contexts with shared lessons learned, including a deep-dive on the Wider Caribbean and North-Atlantic. Through facilitated dialogue, participants will identify shared challenges, data needs, governance gaps, and opportunities for collaboration. The workshop aims to generate actionable recommendations, strengthen cross-sector networks, and inform future applications of the blue corridors conservation approach. Outcomes will support coordinated strategies aligned with global biodiversity targets, the UN BBNJ Treaty, and broader ocean sustainability goals, while advancing the role of marine mammal science in connectivity-based ocean management. The agenda will include: * Introduction to Blue Corridors * How WWF and partners are applying this to global, regional and local conservation with bluecorridors.org<http://bluecorridors.org> * Lessons from how this approach can be applied to national and global policy opportunities * A deep dive & next steps of a local to regional case: co-designing a future Caribbean & North Atlantic assessment * Discussing how you can get involved and how we can improve bluecorridors.org<http://bluecorridors.org> and the approach We hope to welcome you on the 17th of October! If you need financial support with covering the workshop fee, please reach out to Chris [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> and/or Nathalie [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Nathalie Houtman Senior Biome Strategist | WWF-NL E: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> | M: +31615137786<tel:+31615137786> wwf.nl<https://www.wwf.nl/> [cid:[email protected]]<https://www.wnf.nl/> BE ONE WITH NATURE
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