[Coral-List] Webinar: Coral reef & coastal sustainability to 2030 & beyond – thinking spatially in coastal East Africa

[Kitty Currier]

This Thursday, the UCSB Center for Spatial Studies will host Dr. David
Obura and Mr. James Mbugua of CORIDO East Africa for a webinar:

Coral reef and coastal sustainability to 2030 and beyond – thinking
spatially in coastal East Africa

7 April, 9 am PDT / 7 pm EAT
https://www.airmeet.com/e/55b244d0-b210-11ec-b214-57fc51231a15

Coasts and oceans are under increasing pressure as population and
economies grow, and push our planet into the Anthropocene, which means
living beyond the planet’s limits of regeneration from local to global
scales. In this context, all terrestrial and marine spaces may be
impacted, and spatial planning has become a necessary framework within
which all human activities need to be planned – including those
intended to safeguard nature. On developing country coastlines,
natural and societal systems are increasingly exposed to increasing
local and global pressures, while low levels of development and
prevailing poverty mean that populations are highly vulnerable.

We present some case studies on spatial aspects of coastal
sustainability, with a focus on coral reefs:
- Using biodiversity observation networks to report on coral reef
health and supply decision-support indicators for ecosystem extent and
integrity, relevant to current discussions on monitoring new global
biodiversity goals to 2050;
- Assessing the vulnerability of the built coastline in the port city
of Mombasa, associated with geomorphological change and socio-economic
vulnerability to better determine exposed populations and locations at
risk;
- Broadening the focus of conservation planning to ‘shared spaces’
where people live and depend on nature, for a new paradigm to
integrate global biodiversity and sustainable development targets.

Dr. David Obura is a Founding Director of CORDIO East Africa, a
knowledge organization supporting sustainability of coral reef and
marine systems in the Western Indian Ocean. David’s primary research
is on coral reef resilience, in particular to climate change, and the
biogeography of the Indian Ocean, and recently expanding this to
sustainability science based on coral reefs as a model.

Mr. James Mbugua is a GIS specialist and a Project manager at CORDIO
East Africa. He is involved in the spatial analysis and interpretation
of Earth Observation data to address environmental challenges facing
local communities in the Western Indian Ocean.

This webinar is part of a series on spatial analysis and technology
across disciplines, hosted by the Center for Spatial Studies at the
University of California, Santa Barbara. Feel free to contact me with
questions.

Thanks,
Kitty

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Kitty Currier
kcurrier at ucsb.edu
Postdoctoral Scholar
Center for Spatial Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara