Life BaĦAR for N2K Conference Presentations – Day 2

Existing Marine SCIs in Malta: Overview of Issues – Mr Brian Christie
Brian Christie has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Marine Environmental Management. He has been employed with ERA for 1 year within the Biodiversity and Water Unit, where his work focuses on existing MPAs in Malta.

Focus on pSCIs on seagrass meadows, turtles and dolphins – proposed management measures – Mr Christopher Cousin
Christopher Cousin works as a senior thematic officer at the Environment and Resources Authority in Malta. He has worked on issues related to the marine environment for the past eleven years focusing on marine protected areas.

Focus on Marine SPAs: LIFE Malta Seabirds After-LIFE – Mr Paulo Lago Barreiro
Paulo Lago is Project Manager of the LIFE Arcipelagu Garnija project of BirdLife Malta for the conservation of the Yelkouan shearwater in Malta. He is specialised in the management of protected areas and has more than 10 years of experience in bird and nature conservation.  In BirdLife Malta Paulo was before Head of Research in the last stage of the LIFE+ Malta Seabird Project working for the declaration of Marine Protected Areas for seabirds in Malta.

Focus on new sites for Caves and Reefs – Issues identified – Dr Leyla Knittweis-Mifsud
Leyla Knittweis-Mifsud holds a B.Sc. in Marine Biology (Swansea, UK), a M.Sc. in Coastal Management (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK) and a Ph.D. in Biology (Bremen, Germany). After completing her Ph.D., Dr. Knittweis-Mifsud held a postdoc research post at the Centre for Marine Ecology in Bremen, and acted as fisheries advisor for Government of Malta for five years, before becoming affiliated with the University of Malta. Besides LIFE BaĦAR for N2K she is currently also involved in the MANTIS project, which is investigating how a network of Marine Protected Areas can contribute towards sustainable fisheries in the central Mediterranean.

  Synergies and opportunities in policy implementation – Ms Miraine Rizzo
Miraine Rizzo is team manager of the ecosystems team and works with the Biodiversity and Water Unit within ERA, with respect to the implementation of the EU water policy, including the implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Water Framework Directive and related policies.

 Management of MPAs in the Mediterranean – Mr Bruno Meola
Bruno Meola is the data management officer of MedPAN, the network of managers of MPAs in the Mediterranean Sea. His mission consists of improving knowledge on Mediterranean MPAs by developing, maintaining and updating the MAPAMED database, which gathers information on MPAs and other sites of conservation interest in the Mediterranean Sea. This information is made freely available and may then be used by NGOs, scientists, managers, institutions or even the general public. Bruno also works on the development of monitoring tools to support Mediterranean MPA managers in their activity.

Experience with management of MPAs in Northern Mediterranean – Ms Valentina Cappanera
Valentina Cappanera graduated in Environmental Science and has been working on coastal zone management and the evaluation on human impact in the Portofino Marine Protected Area for 10 years, with particular reference to small scale fishery and diving activities. She also has expertise in European project management acquired with different LIFE and Fp7 project on conservation topics.

Experience with management of MPAs in the Southern Mediterranean – Mr Ziad Samaha
Ziad Samaha joined the IUCN ROWA in 2013 and is responsible for managing the Marine and Coastal Zones Management programme as well as designing and delivering an expanded technical programme for IUCN at the regional level in West Asia. Currently he is managing the Sustainable Fishing and Livelihood support project in Tyre, south Lebanon to support the management of Tyre Coast Nature Reserve.

Videos shown during Ziad’s presentation can be found here: People by the sea and Sustainable Fisheries Management at Tyre, Lebanon, IUCN

Regional and Spatial Patterns in Marine Biodiversity and Human Impacts in the Mediterranean: Implications for Management and Policy – Dr Ameer Abdulla
Dr. Ameer Abdulla has been Senior Specialist (2004-2010) and then Senior Advisor (2010-2016) to the IUCN Global Marine and Polar Program. During this time, he was the program lead on Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Science globally and established and led the IUCN Program in the Maldives from 2011 to 2016. Dr. Abdulla is  currently the Senior Advisor on Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Science for the European Topic Center of theUniversity of Malaga, Spain and a Senior Conservation Science Fellow with the Wildlife Conservation Society, USA. In addition he is the 2017 National Geographic Explorer, an expert member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, the IUCN Climate Change and Coral Reefs Working Group, and Associate Professor in Marine Conservation Science with the University of Queensland, Australia.