WIOMSA Executive Secretary Dr Arthur Tuda, WIOMPAN President and Seychelles WIOMPAN Chapter Chair Allen Cedras, and Réunion WIOMPAN Chapter Chair Dr Karine Pothin joined the second in-person meeting of the IMPAC6 International Steering Committee (COPIL), held in Dakar from 31 August to 2 September 2026. Hosted by Senegal’s Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition, the meeting reviewed preparations for IMPAC6, the sixth International Marine Protected Areas Congress, to be held in Dakar on 22–27 March 2027, the first ever staged on African soil.
Four technical commissions (Communication and Mobilization; Scientific and Technical; Partnerships and Financing; Logistics and Security) presented progress, including a monthly congress newsletter, capitalization pathways to document MPA experience, and a growing scientific programme. WIOMPAN, alongside IUCN, RAMPAO, PRCM and MedPAN, was named as a key network for mobilizing MPA managers across the WIO and beyond.
Participants also visited the Somone community-managed MPA and the CICAD conference venue. With months to go, WIO MPA managers are invited to prepare session proposals, side events and delegations so the region arrives in Dakar with a strong, united voice.
Under the slogan “MPAs for a fair and resilient global ocean”. For the first time in the congress series’ history, the world’s leading forum for marine protected areas, its only global gathering of MPA managers, scientists, communities, Indigenous Peoples, donors and policymakers will be hosted on the African continent. With more than 30,000 km of coastline, some of the planet’s richest ecosystems, and a fast-growing coastal population, Africa offers both the urgency and experience the congress aims to showcase: African solutions, South-South cooperation, and stronger participation of developing countries in global ocean governance.
