From 3-9 February 2023, the world’s leading ocean conservation professionals will meet in Vancouver, Canada to chart a course towards protecting 30 per cent of the global ocean by 2030.
International Marine Protected Areas Congresses (IMPAC) are an opportunity for the global community of marine conservation managers and practitioners to exchange knowledge, experience and best practices to strengthen the conservation of marine biodiversity and to protect the natural and cultural heritage of the ocean.
IMPAC congresses are a collaborative effort between the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the chosen host country.
Previous IMPAC events
Since 2005, four IMPAC events have taken place in the following locations:
- IMPAC1 – Geelong, Australia (2005)
- IMPAC2 – Washington, D.C., United States of America (2009)
- IMPAC3 – Marseille, France (2013)
- IMPAC4 – La Serena-Coquimbo, Chile (2017).
During the closing ceremony of IMPAC4, Canada was awarded the honour of hosting IMPAC5.
IMPAC5
IMPAC5 will be well positioned to develop the ways and means to achieve the international ocean, biodiversity and climate change commitments that will be made at global events such as:
- The 57th session by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-57) – approval session for the synthesis report in Geneva, Switzerland from 27-30 September 2022;
- The G20 Leaders’ Summit 2022 in Bali, Indonesia from 15-16 November 2022; and
- The Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in Montreal, Canada from 7-19 December 2022.
IMPAC5 will be jointly hosted by the Host First Nations—xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-waututh Nation)—together with the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
IMPAC5 will culminate in a one-day Leadership Forum on 9 February, 2023. Ministers from invited governments will join leaders of Indigenous, environmental, philanthropic, educational and private sector organizations to hear the results of the Congress and build global momentum towards charting the course to protecting 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030.