by Water Revolution Foundation | 16 Jun 2021 | Insights
The Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMA) programme aims to support the restoration of the balance of life in the ocean by identifying the most important marine habitats for marine mammals which can then be prioritised for conservation actions. IMMAs are identified on the basis of four main scientific criteria:
- species or population vulnerability,
- distribution and abundance,
- key life cycle activities,
- special attributes.
Crucially, the decision process is entirely biocentric, independent of any political and socioeconomic pressure or concern.
Once an area has been identified as an IMMA, it is included in a dedicated e-Atlas and searchable database, offering actionable knowledge for governments and other regulatory bodies to implement marine conservation measures at national, regional and global levels. Following their identification, IMMAs may result in the creation of marine protected areas, mitigation measures through marine spatial planning or other zoning measures, opportunities for raising public awareness, or ways to protect special places.
The first IMMAs started to be placed on the global map in 2016 and, already, IMMAs have been used by governments and a variety of marine stakeholders around the world to inform conservation programmes and strategies, resulting in more sustainable ocean use. Examples include shaping and leading to protected areas in Vietnam and Bangladesh, and relinquishing oil and gas development in key dugong habitat in Mozambique.
In addition, information from the IMMA programme can be used to adjust sailing routes and behaviour at sea. Notably, IMMAs are being used by the International Whaling Commission to address the threat to whales derived by ship strikes, and by the U.S. Navy as Offshore Biologically Important Areas relevant to the mitigation of disturbance and mortality from sonar testing.
Our crowdfunding campaign is an opportunity for the superyacht community – companies, professionals, owners and charterers alike – to take on a stewardship role of the oceans. Collectively, we can support the important work of the IMMA programme and help protect our oceans.
Learn more about the IMMA programme and how you can contribute to our crowdfunding campaign
by Water Revolution Foundation | 14 Jun 2021 | Insights
The Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMA) programme is the first ocean conservation programme to be endorsed by Water Revolution Foundation and was a logical choice. “We considered the transformative capacity of the project on a large scale, its multiplier effect and its large-scale impacts based on scientific indicators. We also looked at the support the project already had from government agencies, international agreements, NGOs, and leading scientists. The IMMA programme ticked all the boxes,” explained Vienna Eleuteri, initiator and vice-chair of Water Revolution Foundation.
The IMMA programme aims to support the restoration of the balance of life in the ocean by identifying the most important marine habitats for marine mammals and prioritising them for conservation actions. With 159 IMMAs already established across the Southern Hemisphere, the IUCN Task Force on Marine Mammal Protected Areas is now looking to the Northern Hemisphere.
We are raising funds for the North Atlantic Ocean to be mapped. This is a popular route for superyachts crossing between the Mediterranean and Caribbean so we, as a community, have a strong connection to this region. The North Atlantic Ocean will cost €550,000 to study in its entirety with the money directly funding the scientists whose work will make the identification of the IMMAs possible. Once identified, these IMMAs will be ripe for species conservation and effective marine management, under the spotlight of an informed public, leading to more sustainable ocean use in this ungoverned area of the high seas.
Our crowdfunding campaign is an opportunity for the superyacht community – companies, professionals, owners and charterers alike – to take on a stewardship role of the oceans. Collectively, we can support the important work of the IMMA programme and help protect our oceans.
Learn more about the IMMA programme and how you can contribute to our crowdfunding campaign
by Water Revolution Foundation | 10 Jun 2021 | Insights
Alongside providing the superyacht industry with the tools and knowledge to reduce its footprint, we recognise that, for a sustainable future, the industry must also directly invest in conservation efforts. We need to go beyond only reducing our impact – only then can the superyacht industry succeed in becoming sustainable.
In fact, it’s time we made the oceans a key stakeholder of our industry. We need to shift from viewing ocean conservation as philanthropy to understanding that it is, in fact, an investment.
We are pleased to see an increasing commitment throughout the yachting community to support the protection of the ocean. Yet, this comes with questions, namely, what are the most effective and impactful projects to support? That’s where Water Revolution Foundation comes in.
To systematically address this question, we have embarked on a mission to identify and support truly impactful and innovative marine conservation projects. In the coming year, the foundation will develop a formal ocean conservation programme. “This forthcoming programme will deliver a new path to nurturing both ocean and human vitality through transformative marine ecosystem conservation projects at scale,” said Vienna Eleuteri, initiator and vice-chair of Water Revolution Foundation. “By doing so, we are connecting an entire business sector to the scientific community and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
The Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMA) programme is our first endorsed project. It aims to support the restoration of the balance of life in the ocean by identifying the most important marine habitats for marine mammals and prioritising them for conservation actions. We view it as an opportunity for the superyacht community to take on a stewardship role of the oceans with companies, professionals, owners and charterers alike coming together to collectively support the programme’s important work and help protect our oceans.
Learn more about the IMMA programme and how you can contribute to our crowdfunding campaign
by Water Revolution Foundation | 8 Jun 2021 | News
Today marks World Ocean Day, a day when the sustainable management of our world’s oceans is in the spotlight. Today also marks the launch of our ocean conservation programme with a crowdfunding campaign for our first endorsed project: the Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMA) programme.
The IMMA programme aims to support the restoration of the balance of life in the ocean by identifying the most important marine habitats for marine mammals and prioritising them for conservation actions. We’re taking on a guiding role, connecting the superyacht industry with the scientific community, and are now calling upon the superyacht community to support the IMMA programme to protect the health of the ocean.
“The objective of the IMMA programme is to map the world ocean and identify the most important habitats for whales, dolphins and other marine mammals,” said Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, co-chair of the IUCN Task Force on Marine Mammal Protected Areas. “If we don’t know the most important places where whales, dolphins, seals, manatees live in the ocean, we can’t protect them.” Since marine mammals, particularly whales, play a key role in the health of the ocean and the planet, protecting them is of vital importance.
Whales, dolphins and porpoises are iconic marine species that we now know play important roles in ocean life. Not only is there something of wonder, beauty and awe when we see them out on the ocean, but they are also an important part of how our ocean, and our world, works. When whales reach the end of their lives, their sinking bodies put a huge amount of carbon directly into the deep ocean where it can be locked away. During their daily lives they also fertilize the surface waters where they feed mix the waters, as well as fertilising them, creating healthy habitats for phytoplankton – microscopic organisms responsible for creating as much oxygen and absorbing as much CO2 as all forests and grasslands combined. “Put simply, we need to protect whales to protect the ocean’s ability to negate the effects of climate change. This is a nature-based solution for a healthier planet,” said Vienna Eleuteri, initiator and vice-chair of Water Revolution Foundation.
Our crowdfunding campaign is an opportunity for the superyacht community – companies, professionals, owners and charterers alike – to take on a stewardship role of the oceans. Collectively, we can support the important work of the IMMA programme and help protect our oceans.
Learn more about the IMMA programme and contribute to the crowdfunding campaign
