Kep Archipelago/ Cambodia (June 8, 2018)— To help celebrate World Oceans Day on June 8th, the National Geographic Society announced Marine Conservation Cambodia as one of three winners of the Marine Protection Prize. This program attracted some of the best and brightest proposals for using technology to better police critical ecosystems and economies. From a pool of 5,720 online inscriptions, 156 teams registered for the competition, three winners were selected. Marine Conservation Cambodia is one of them, to be awarded $150,000 to implement a plan to protect the world’s oceans and sustain its fisheries.
“Overfishing and illegal fishing severely impact the ecosystem and the communities that rely on those environments,” said Jonathan Baillie, the National Geographic Society’s chief scientist and executive vice president, science and exploration. “The innovations from the three winning teams have the potential to greatly increase sustainable fishing in coastal systems. These talented individuals will test and improve their ideas to push their innovations to the next level and help create more sustainable fishing practices in communities throughout the world.”
Overfishing and illegal fishing threaten our oceans, food security and the livelihood of island nations and coastal communities. The purpose of the Marine Protection Prize is to attract a range of solutions that offer low-cost and easy-to-maintain technologies and that are relevant to the needs of local stakeholders.
“Conservation doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive; often the simplest solutions offer the most effective outcomes. Giving nature a break from anthropogenic stresses is all that is needed to allow nature to do what it does best, self-restoration. As a species, we need to reassess our priorities and remove ourselves from the consumer lifestyles we have adopted and return to a more balanced approach where we give nature the respect it so desperately needs.” Paul Ferber
Our project will counters destructive and illegal fishing practices in Kep province, Cambodia by deploying anti-trawling structures and delimiting boundaries of a 11 543ha Marine Fisheries Management Area. If you need more information, go and check :
Participating teams explained their technical approach while also describing their understanding and relationships to the communities that would benefit from each intervention. To learn more about the winners and the Marine Protection Prize, visit www.marineprotectionprize.com.
About National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society is a leading nonprofit that invests in bold people and transformative ideas in the fields of exploration, scientific research, storytelling and education. Through our grants and programs, we aspire to create a community of change, advancing key insights about our planet and probing some of the most pressing scientific questions of our time while ensuring that the next generation is armed with geographic knowledge and global understanding. Our goal is measurable impact: furthering exploration and educating people around the world to inspire solutions for the greater good. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.org.
About Marine Conservation Cambodia
Marine Conservation Cambodia (MCC) is a practical, independent community based NGO with a growing and respected national environmental policy and advocacy role.
MCC is committed to:
- Protecting and restoring healthy and sustainable marine ecosystems;
- Supporting and empowering small-scale fishing people and communities who for generations have primarily relied upon local marine resources for their food and livelihoods;
- Engaging with and helping inform local, regional and national Cambodian government’s and their agencies in the development of sustainable fisheries and the implementation of best practice regulations and management for an extensive network of new and promised Marine Fisheries Management Areas, or MFMAs (Cambodia’s equivalent of Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs).