Fauna & Flora at Cabo Verde Ocean Week 2025: Showcasing Marine Conservation and Participatory Management Initiatives

Photo credit: Ministério do Mar

From 2nd to 7th November, the city of Mindelo hosted Cabo Verde Ocean Week 2025, the country’s leading platform dedicated to the Ocean. Bringing together government institutions, experts, civil society organisations, the private sector, and international partners, this year’s edition embraced the theme “The Ocean Connects People,” highlighting the importance of regional cooperation, marine ecosystem protection and the promotion of a sustainable blue economy.

The Cruise Terminal of Mindelo welcomed the session Blue Talks I – Sustainable Management of Marine Resources, bringing together national and international speakers to discuss strategic topics for the future of the Atlantic and the Macaronesia region. The talks addressed marine protected areas, the global BBNJ Agreement, ocean governance, biodiversity conservation, and the 30x30 model.

The session featured contributions from the Azores, presenting “The Largest Marine Protected Area in the North Atlantic”; Biosfera, outlining the advantages of aligning the BBNJ Agreement with the proposed ecological corridor for Cabo Verde; BirdLife, discussing the use of biodiversity data to support high-seas governance; the Oceano Azul Foundation on the 30x30 model; and regional organisations such as UEMOA, Expertise France, PRCM and CSRP. The keynote speaker was José Manuel Fernandes, Portugal’s Minister of Agriculture and the Sea, and the discussion was moderated by Mathieu Ducrocq, President of the RAMPAO Scientific Council.

Fauna & Flora’s presentation “Marine Conservation and Participatory Management Initiatives,” shared experiences and results from projects implemented in Cabo Verde – most notably the PaMAR Project. The presentation highlighted participatory approaches developed in collaboration with coastal communities and national institutions, demonstrating the value of combining local knowledge, science and collaborative governance to enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems.

Beyond the Blue Talks, Fauna & Flora also joined a side event organised by the Oceano Azul Foundation and the TAOLA+ environmental conservation network, where the team presented the latest results from the PaMAR project and explored opportunities to strengthen joint action for marine conservation in the country. This side event underscored the importance of civil society in shaping ocean solutions and fostering synergies across projects, organisations and regional initiatives.

Cabo Verde Ocean Week 2025 once again affirmed the country’s role as a regional meeting point for ocean governance in West Africa and the Macaronesia. Fauna & Flora’s contribution reflects the organisation’s ongoing commitment to collaborate on marine biodiversity conservation, strengthen protected area management, and promote inclusive models that benefit both nature and the communities that depend on it.

Photo credit: Ministério do Mar

Photo credit: Ministério do Mar