Objectives
The primary objective of GeoHab 2025 is to bring together scientists and stakeholders from all over the world to share their experiences and expertise about topics related to marine habitat mapping, in line with GeoHab’s stated goals to:
1) support government spatial marine planning, sustainable ocean management, and decision-making;
2) support and underpin the design of marine protected areas;
3) conduct scientific research programs aimed at generating knowledge of benthic ecosystems and seafloor geology;
4) conduct living and non-living seabed resource assessments for economic and management purposes.
We aim to encourage networking and collaboration by providing formal (and less formal) opportunities for exchange, in locations that will showcase our host city. As such, our unofficial motto for this year’s conference is Experience Key West, which we highlight through the different venues where the conference will be held. Visit the Logistics page for more information!
We also aim to encourage student participation: the Ron McDowell Student Support Awards will be awarded again this year (click here for more information)!
Values
The organizing committee of GeoHab 2025 is committed to providing a safe, open, respectful, and inclusive environment, and we encourage all attendees to contribute to creating such an environment. We abide by GeoHab’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement, and many of our decisions regarding the organization of GeoHab 2025 are guided by it. In line with this, GeoHab welcomes undergraduate and graduate students to actively participate in the conference, and encourages them through the Ron McDowell Student Support Award, which allows them to receive a stipend to cover travel costs and conference registration fees. Applications for the 2025 awards are due on January 17 (instructions here).
If you have any concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion, we invite you to contact us at GeoHab2025@GeoHab.org to express them.
We are also committed to reducing the environmental impact of GeoHab 2025. Efforts are actively being made as we plan the conference to reduce our environmental impact. A program to offset our collective carbon footprint for this conference is being put in place in collaboration with The Ocean Foundation (see below), and this year’s swag will contribute directly to reducing our impact and to marine conservation. More details will follow as plans get confirmed.
SeaGrass Grow is the first and only blue carbon offset calculator – planting and protecting coastal wetlands to fight climate change. Since 2008, The Ocean Foundation has been involved in many coastal restoration projects and has widely promoted the concept of Blue Carbon — the capacity of natural coastal ecosystems, including seagrasses, mangroves, and salt marshes, to take up and sequester large quantities of carbon in both the plants themselves and the sediment below. Recognizing that this concept could help address and mitigate climate change while promoting ocean health, The Ocean Foundation has made an effort to protect and restore these coastal systems while investing in the science and viability of blue carbon projects. Through this innovative program, individuals or businesses can calculate the carbon footprint of their home, workplace or travel and offset it to restore and protect coastal wetlands. This is what GeoHab will be doing for its conference in 2025!
Contact
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