Social, economic and environmental sustainability in the spotlight in the 3rd edition of the Marine Forum
The third edition of the Marine Forum is ready to get underway, with the main event due to be held in Ibiza on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th of October. Additionally, on Friday 15th October, a workshop will take place, aimed at business associations, entrepreneurs, officials from local administrations and civil society, in order to explore how the EU’s so-called “Next Generation” funds can be used as a tool to help build a more sustainable future.
The third edition will be open to the public and can also be followed through streaming on the social networks of the Forum itself as well as those of the organisations belonging to the Promoter Group: IbizaPreservation, Trasmapi, OD Group, Marilles, Pacha foundation and Vellmarí, with the collaboration with IB3 Television. “By live streaming the conferences and presentations, we can ensure we reach a wider audience that may not be able to travel to Ibiza to attend in person,” said Kate Benyon-Tinker, spokesperson for IbizaPreservation.
28 voices for sustainability
A total of 28 experts will participate in the event, from across all sectors involved in the general defence of the environment and the marine environment, both from within Spain and internationally.
The 2021 Marine Forum has three key pillars: the relationship of people to sustainability, whether experts, scientists or society in general; the binomial economy (business and sustainability); and the role of administrations and public aid as necessary actors to achieve a sustainable society.
“We have inspiring lectures such as those offered by the so-called “dame of the deep” Sylvia Earle, Lea D’Auriol, the founder of the Oceanic Global Foundation and Alba Carbonell, a young Menorcan co-founder of the NGO 0Plastic, which is doing a magnificent job. Together they are three inspiring generations of women involved in environmental activism. We are going to give voice to citizen science to explain how society and scientists can collaborate from a triple perspective: organisational, scientific and citizen engagement. Furthermore, we will be learning all about the archaeological secrets to be discovered within the sea’s hidden depths, thanks to Javier Rodriguez Pandozi, project director of IBEAM, ”explained Cres Huerta, director of the Pacha Foundation and member of the Promoter Group.
Blue economy and “Next Generation” funds
The Promoter Group understands the importance of sustainability as a key asset for tourism and is therefore keen to demonstrate to both entrepreneurs and administrations that investment in marine conservation generates benefits, and even more so in islands like the Balearics, where the sea is a fundamental plank of economic development.
“In our panel dedicated to blue economy we will have prestigious experts such as Ignasi Ferrer, CEO of Seastainable Ventures, and David Álvarez García, executive director of ECOACSA, which is developing a pilot project in Cala Ratjada, to study the benefits and economic profitability that marine reserves in the Mediterranean can provide ”, added Aniol Esteban, director of the Marilles Foundation.
In addition, the opportunities that the EU’s “Next Generation” funds can offer in bringing about change will also be analysed. On the second day of the forum, representatives of local administrations and an expert in European funds will discuss the possibilities that they open up for the region. Further to this, on 15th October, a workshop will be held in which the management of EU funds will be explored with small and medium-sized companies, local officials and business associations. This workshop will be given by Alberto Demetrio, an independent consultant specialising in this area.
Good practice
Friday’s agenda will also include a panel on good practices being adopted across different sectors. It includes projects that promote the protection of biodiversity and Posidonia, the elimination of single-use plastics and the development of a new tourism model based on sustainable criteria. In this regard, the Promoter Group underlines the importance of communicating work that is already being carried out and can help inspire other professionals and companies.
Participants in this panel are: Marcos Marí, vice-president of the Alonso Marí group and representative of the Marine Forum’s working group of marinas and yacht clubs; Jorge Martin, Head of Quality, Environment, Innovation and CSR at the Balearic Port Authority; Antonio Calvo Roy, Director of Sustainability at Red Eléctrica and Sandra Benbeniste, a co-founder of the Marine Forum and the former Director of IbizaPreservation, currently Director of Sustainability EMEA Iberostar group.
All information and registration through foromarino.org.
