This joint event between the African Development Bank and the Government of Senegal will position the International Marine Protected Areas Congress Dakar 2027 as a strategic African milestone for accelerating marine and coastal biodiversity conservation. Scheduled to take place in Dakar, Senegal, from 22 to 27 March 2027, the International Marine Protected Areas Congress will mark the first time the global congress is hosted on the African continent.

The session will provide a platform to mobilize development partners, technical institutions, civil society, coastal communities, and private-sector actors around Senegal’s leadership and Africa’s priorities for ocean governance, marine protected areas, and sustainable blue economy pathways. Framed under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the event will emphasize the contribution of marine protected areas to the global 30x30 target, ecosystem resilience, community-based conservation, climate adaptation, and sustainable financing.

It will also explore how multilateral development banks and partners can support Senegal and African countries in translating biodiversity commitments into investable programs, stronger institutional cooperation, and scalable action ahead of the International Marine Protected Areas Congress.

The event will highlight a broad partnership coalition including the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Fondation Hans Wilsdorf, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Office français de la biodiversité, World Bank, Wetlands International, Agence française de développement, Blue Nature Alliance, Oceans 5, Blue Action Fund, the Republic of Chile as a leader of the First Movers coalition, Réseau MedPAN, Réseau régional d’aires marines protégées en Afrique de l’Ouest, Canada, and Colombia as President of the Marine Protected Area Agencies Partnership.