Interdisciplinary Summer school 2023 - Marine protected areas: current issues and challenges

Dates: June 19, 2023 to June 23, 2023
Public: Master 1 and above, PhD students, professionals
Fee: Free for students enrolled at Aix-Marseille University and CIVIS universities, €200 for other participants.
Location: Marseille, Luminy Campus, Bat. OCEANOMED, and Endoume marine station, Marseille
Language: Most lectures will be given in French. Some lectures will be in English (level of comprehension in French and English required).
ECTS : 3 - 35 teaching hours - Daily MCQ exams

Highlights :

  • 2 excursions to the Parc National des Calanques - 1 boat trip - 1 practical session on plastic pollution monitoring methods, lectures by leading experts.

A cross-disciplinary approach to current issues and challenges relating to the conservation and management of marine protected areas:

  • Interdisciplinarity: oceanography, law, geography, marine ecology, economics, paleoceanography, sociology, biogeochemistry, history, etc.
  • Varied program: field trips, classroom teaching, experiments, lectures
  • A Summer school built on partnerships and privileged relationships between teacher-researchers and socio-economic players.

Objectives and target skills

The Summer school aims to provide knowledge on the management of marine protected areas (MPAs) by linking various disciplines. Participants will learn to understand the complexity of management decisions, the methods and measures involved, and the variety of stakeholders and scales of governance. They will develop their ability to adapt and actively participate in a variety of activities, while working in interdisciplinary teams to tackle the challenges of sustainable MPA management.

Organizers

Find out all about the 2023 Interdisciplinary Summer school here! pdf - 6.14 MB

Summer school on Marine Protected Area Management and the Parc National des Calanques

The fight against biodiversity loss, in the context of the sixth mass extinction, has led to international and national strategies to protect coastal and marine ecosystems. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a key component of these policies, and their number has been growing in recent years. According to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), States must protect at least 10% of their marine and coastal areas, with the target raised to 30% since the 15th Conference of the Parties on Biological Diversity. The effectiveness of these MPAs is essential for the long-term conservation of ecosystems, taking into account ecological, legal, socio-economic and cultural dimensions.

This Summer school focuses on the management of MPAs through the case of the Parc national des Calanques, a protected site covering over 141,000 hectares of land and sea. The park, which faces anthropogenic and environmental pressures, serves as a study ground for tackling issues such as ecosystem vulnerability, fisheries resources management, marine pollution, and the impacts of climate change.

The Summer school program combines lectures and field trips, enabling students and professionals to understand the challenges at different temporal and spatial scales, while exploring concrete solutions for the sustainable management of MPAs.