The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), University of Cape Town (UCT), and MISSION ATLANTIC partners invite you to attend a workshop on "Harmonising marine ecosystem assessments to develop an indicator framework to support ocean science, environmental reporting and to inform policy" on 28 - 29 October, 9:00-12:30 SAST.

MISSION ATLANTIC applies an Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) framework to identify risks and pressures. MISSION ATLANTIC partners, SANBI and UCT, are working to apply this framework to the South African case study (Benguela Current). However, one of the challenges of applying the IEA framework is aligning it with local approaches for example the IUCN assessment framework used in the National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) in South Africa. Marine ecosystem assessments are also used for international reporting (e.g. CBD), to identify ecologically and biologically significant areas, for marine spatial planning, and for government environmental reports.

This workshop will be the first step towards the development of a national indicator framework for marine condition assessments in South Africa. The workshop aims to bring together stakeholders, organisations, and government institutions that are directly or indirectly involved with or rely on marine ecosystem condition assessments or biodiversity monitoring that inform marine ecosystem conditions.

To join the workshop, or for more information, please contact Kaylee Smit, SANBI kayles.smit@gmail.com.