Today, the Blue Azores Program gathered together to reaffirm its partnership and ensure the successful implementation of the recently created Azores Marine Protected Area Network. Covering 30% of the Azores sea, the network safeguards 287,000 square kilometers of ocean space, making it the largest Marine Protected Area network in the North Atlantic.
Recommitting to Blue Azores
The partners of the Blue Azores Program – the Regional Government of the Azores, the Oceano Azul Foundation and the Waitt Institute – signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committing to the implementation of the Marine Protected Area Network over the next 5 years. The partners reconvened on the island of Faial, 6 years after the first MOU was signed to officially launch the Blue Azores partnership in 2019.
"Today's renewed partnership ensures this ambitious vision to protect our sea becomes reality, delivering tangible benefits for both our marine ecosystems and the Azorean people who depend on them. This action will have far-reaching benefits for Europe and the Atlantic, and will hopefully inspire other regions and nations to do the same." - José Manuel Bolieiro, President of the Regional Government of the Azores
More than €10M to support implementation
The Waitt Institute, Oceano Azul Foundation, and Blue Nature Alliance contributed more than 10 million euros to ensure the Network can be successfully implemented. In the coming months, an implementation strategy will be developed that will include plans for monitoring, compliance and enforcement, outreach, the development of sustainable finance mechanisms, fisheries restructuring and other relevant activities.
"The Government of the Azores has the wisdom to understand that it's the implementation that’s going to be a model for the rest of the world, showing that it's possible to protect the environment while securing economic benefits for all of the citizens of the Azores for generations to come." - Ted Waitt, Founder and Chairman of the Waitt Foundation and the Waitt Institute
The beginning of a new chapter for Blue Azores
While years of work went into the creation of the network through an extensive science-based, participatory process, today marks the beginning of a new chapter to build enduring marine protection in the Azores.
"It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Azores’ action is the most important conservation achievement in the last year at least and probably the last several years. We are currently facing an enormous climate and biodiversity crisis and it’s more important than ever to protect our planet if we’re going to conserve it and utilize it in the future. - Dr. Kathryn Mengerink, Executive Director of the Waitt Institute
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