Story | 01 Aug, 2018

The Green List Expert Assessment Group for California’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network announced

Advancing the effort to add California’s marine protected area network to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas, IUCN has selected members of the “Expert Assessment Group for the Green List” (EAGL).

Photo: Jenn Eckerle, the Ocean Protection Council

Drawn from a pool of extremely qualified applicants (through an open public call), these 17 individuals represent the voices of key California ocean stakeholders from a diverse array of sectors including: ecology, sociology, economics, and management; outreach and education; ocean business and tourism; California’s Tribes and Tribal Governments; commercial and recreational fishermen; citizen scientists; aquaria; and non-governmental organizations.

The IUCN Green List criteria benchmark good governance, sound design and planning, effective management, and successful conservation outcomes. The EAGL will hold evaluation meetings and site visits to assess how California’s MPA network meets IUCN’s Green List criteria, and will recommend that the network be added to the Green List if all criteria are met. California’s MPA network protects marine natural heritage through a statewide network of 124 marine protected areas designed, created, and managed using sound science and stakeholder input.

The IUCN Green List process begins with EAGL training in August and evaluation will commence thereafter. The following individuals have been selected to serve on the EAGL: