The Monaco Blue Initiative is a discussion platform that develops communication and exchange on the sustainable management and conservation of the ocean between the different actors – government decision-makers, international organizations, civil society, scientists, private sector. Its members meet each year to anticipate the next issues related to ocean management, discuss the complex interactions and possible synergies between marine conservation and socio-economic development in order to propose recommendations.

This 10th edition will provide the opportunity to consider solutions for the development of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in terms of percentage but also level of protection and effectiveness, beyond the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets.  Debates will attempt to establish the basis of a new relationship that benefits both Nature and Man. Three main themes will be discussed: “How – collectively – to reach and go beyond the Aichi objectives, in terms of area and management efficiency? How can a network of MPAs contribute to the protection and conservation of species? What are the next steps in assessing the value of ecosystem services and how to integrate them into the development of the Blue Economy? “

Marine Protected Areas will also be at the heart of current issues, from the angle of negotiations on the protection of the high seas and its biodiversity (BBNJ), Sustainable Development Goals, and in the perspectives of the International Congress of Marine Protected Areas (IMPAC) in 2021 in Canada.