The IMPAC5 logo symbolizes the interconnected nature of the global ocean, which sustains blue nature and supports human life and therefore the need for coordinated global action to protect it.
The IMPAC5 logo is a collaboration between Roger Handling and Bronwyn Handling of Terra Firma Digital Arts—an award winning west coast design studio that has produced work for environmental protection sector for over 25 years—and Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee of Nahanee Creative. Ta7talíya is a graphic artist, communications consultant and decolonial facilitator from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation).
Ta7talíya incorporated a “Salish Eye” element into the IMPAC5 logo. It represents the watchful eyes of past and future generations. It adorns Squamish carvings, paddles, and the hulls of magnificent seagoing canoes. This element also represents the importance of the ocean to the Host First Nations and the significant Indigenous role in the congress and in MPAs in Canada and around the world.
The design evokes a global ocean theme through a stylized Humpback whale emerging from a cresting wave.
The humpback whale ranges throughout the global ocean, migrating each year between polar and tropical regions. The whale represents hope for conservation action, given the species’ comeback from near extinction prior to the whaling moratorium in 1966.
While humpback whale populations have rebounded, they continue to face dangers across the world ocean, including fishing gear entanglement, ship strikes and noise pollution. At IMPAC5, we will discuss how MPAs can help address or mitigate these impacts.
