| September 29th, 2022 | BFW22-events

Unsung heroes: the hidden value of seagrass meadows

Seagrass meadows are important for climate change mitigation, biodiversity, fisheries, food security, coastal protection, and much more. Yet they continue to diminish and disappear at an alarming rate. We will explore the rate and reasons for this decline, as well as the many benefits that these ecosystems provide.

The webinar will consist of presentations by experts around the globe on the latest and best research followed by a panel discussion. There will be opportunities for participants to both ask questions and engage in discussions.

Scroll to see the programme details and speakers for this event.

Back to blue forests week 2022

DATE & TIME
Tuesday, November 29th
09:30 – 11:30 CET

LOCATION
Microsoft Teams (Online)

EVENT TYPE
Webinar

LANGUAGE
English

PROGRAMME DETAILS

09:30

Welcome and introduction

Moderator: Tanya Bryan, GRID-Arendal

09:40

Seagrass trends in Europe and globally

Dr. Carmen B. de los Santos, Centre of Marine Sciences of Algarve (CCMAR)

09:55

Seagrass blue carbon: from microbes to management

Dr. Paul Carnell and Dr. Stacey Trevathan-Tackett, Deakin University

10:10

Seagrass and its role on coastal biodiversity and ecosystems

Dr. Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

10:25

Seagrass associated fisheries

Dr. Lina Mtwana Nordlund, Uppsala University

10:40

Panel discussion

Carmen B. de los Santos, Lina Mtwana Nordlund, Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal 

11:10

Closing comments

11:15

Breakout room discussions

Speakers

Additional speaker biographies coming soon

Tanya Bryan
Ecosystems and Communities Lead, GRID-Arendal

Tanya started at GRID-Arendal in early 2014 as a Project Manager for Marine Ecosystem Services projects. Her core areas of work include projects on blue carbon, blue economy, and conservation finance, as well as developing other ecosystem service projects as the opportunity arises. She has over 10 years of experience in marine conservation in both academic and NGO environments on both the east and west coasts of Canada, with a focus on deep water coral, marine spatial planning and blue carbon projects.

Dr. Carmen B. de los Santos
Research Assistant, Centre of Marine Sciences of Algarve

Carmen is a research assistant at the Marine Science Centre in Faro, Portugal. She is an experienced marine ecologist focusing on seagrass ecosystems, investigating their provision of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, their functioning and their response to environmental impacts, and their trends over time. Her research purpose and motivation is to advance ecological knowledge of seagrasses to support science-based management, promote their conservation and inform national and international environmental policy. In 2019, she led the first assessment of seagrass trends in Europe and she is currently involved in the first national assessment of blue carbon storage and sequestration in the seagrasses and salt marshes of Portugal.

Dr. Paul Carnell
Research Fellow, Deakin University Australia

Paul Carnell has been a research fellow at Deakin University’s Blue Carbon Lab (BCL) for over seven years. Paul is a marine scientist whose research aims to best inform restoration of the environment by valuing the ecosystem services provided to humanity. Paul works across all coastal ecosystems from kelp forests to seagrass, saltmarsh and mangroves. With an ecological underpinning, he has worked on cost-benefit analyses of coastal management actions by quantifying the blue carbon capacity of coastal systems, but also how they contribute to fisheries, protect our shorelines and contribute to recreation and tourism.

Dr. Stacey Trevathan-Tackett
ARC DECRA Fellow, Deakin University Australia

Stacey Trevathan-Tackett has been a research fellow at Deakin University’s Blue Carbon Lab (BCL) for over seven years. Stacey is a marine scientist whose research interests span from seagrass disease and microbiomes to blue carbon. Her research applies biogeochemical and microbiological techniques to improve the fundamental understanding of carbon cycling and microbial ecology in coastal ecosystems in the context of global climate change and ecosystem health and restoration.

Dr. Lina Mtwana Nordlund
Senior Lecturer, Uppsala University Sweden

Dr. Lina Mtwana Nordlund’s research interest is in connecting nature and human wellbeing. She works with sustainable development of the coastal zone and uses an inter- and transdisciplinary research approach to gain a more holistic understanding. She specializes in seagrass ecosystems and associated social-ecological systems, specifically fisheries and ecosystem services. Lina is also the Director of the Indo-Pacific Seagrass Network.

Dr. Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal
Associate Professor, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal currently works at the Faculty of Fisheries and Food Science, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. Abu Hena does research in Aquaculture and Ecology. His current research project focuses on linking mangrove and seagrass ecosystems with community well-being, life, and livelihoods. He does have 2 decades of experience working on seagrass and its ecosystems in Asian region specially in Malaysia and Bangladesh.