Blue Economy Webinar Series Announcement: Measuring Ocean Health for Sustainability

To kick off the new year, join this ​​FREE ​45-​minute webinar to ​learn about how the health of our oceans is being measured.

• What is the Ocean Health Index (OHI)?
• Key elements of the OHI framework
• What are the practical uses of the OHI framework?

Many national and international efforts, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), recognize the importance of healthy oceans for the livelihoods and well-being of humans, but to date have lacked a comprehensive method for measuring ocean health. The OHI is the first integrated framework and management tool that measures the health of coupled human-ocean ecosystems in different contexts by accommodating local environmental characteristics, cultural priorities, and information availability and quality. It assesses a suite of benefits the ocean provides to humans using the best available information and translates complex socio-ecological relationships and context specific targets into easily accessible scores, on a scale from 0 to 100, that reflect how well a coastal region is utilizing the ocean in a sustainable way. The OHI framework is a flexible and repeatable approach and the process is iterative so that management can track and respond to changes through time.

The OHI is used to inform decisions ranging from a global scale, such as through the SDGs, and at smaller scales by regional, national, and local governing bodies. Increasingly, the OHI process is implemented by independent groups; these efforts, called OHI+ assessments, allow for the exploration of variables influencing ocean health at smaller scales where policy and management decisions are made. In practice, the OHI process helps users establish management targets, identify locally important ocean characteristics, centralize relevant information (data & indicators), and recognize information and knowledge gaps. This enables scientists, managers, policy makers, and the public to better and more holistically understand, track and communicate the status of local marine ecosystems and to design strategic management actions to improve overall ocean health.

The presentation will be followed by ​Q&A where participants will have an opportunity to ask ​the presenter ​questions. Can’t attend live? You should still register! We’ll be sending out the recorded presentation and slides to all registrants.

Tuesday, January 24
9:00 am Cambodia/Lao PDR/Thailand/Vietnam/Western Indonesia
10:00 am China/Central Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines/Singapore
11:00 am Eastern Indonesia/Japan/RO Korea/Timor Leste

JOIN HERE

SPEAKER
Erich J. Pacheco, Senior Manager for the Ocean Health Index, Conservation International

Erich J Pacheco is responsible for collaborating with multiple international stakeholders to support decision-making on the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources. His primary focus is on creating and implementing strategies for the development and institutionalization of ocean health initiatives, focusing on OHI assessments.

Prior to joining OHI, Erich worked as a consultant at the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Programme in Papua New Guinea on the nexus between ecosystems and the livelihoods of coastal communities. He worked on sustainable food security initiatives in West Africa with farmer cooperatives, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea and later as a technical coordinator for a USAID program in Mali.

Erich earned a master’s degree in ocean and coastal resource management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of California in natural resource economics and international relations. He is fluent in English, Spanish and French, and in his spare time rock climbs and goes hiking. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon.