The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) is hiring two limited term Environmental Scientists (30×30 Staff Scientists) to help advance California’s goal to conserve 30% of coastal waters by 2030 (the “30×30” initiative) and broader strategic priorities related to enhancing coastal and marine biodiversity. The Environmental Scientists will be responsible for supporting tribal consultations and stakeholder convenings; identifying science-based strategies to strengthen biodiversity conservation in California’s coastal waters (including research gaps that warrant near-term investment); and coordinating with state and federal partner agencies. The Environmental Scientists will also be responsible for grant and contract management, including developing scopes of work and budgets, tracking deliverables, and coordinating with grantees. The Environmental Scientists will provide additional support and capacity for implementation of broader OPC and California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) priorities related to biodiversity conservation, such as habitat protection and restoration, and support embedding equity and environmental justice into programs and actions.
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What is 30×30?
- How much of our coastal waters are already conserved.
- The state’s strategies for achieving the 30×30 target in coastal waters.
- Ways to stay updated and get involved.
Plus, register online for our next virtual workshop!
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We are hiring a Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisory) to lead its Biodiversity Program and advance work related to marine protected areas, kelp forest resilience, marine biodiversity conservation, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and the state’s 30×30 initiative for coastal waters. The Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisory) will advance these strategic priorities (and others, as needed) as outlined in the Strategic Plan to Protect California’s Coast and Ocean, in coordination with OPC staff, state and federal agencies, California Native American tribes, local governments, scientists, non-profits, community members and others. The Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisory) will also supervise several Environmental Scientists, serve as OPC’s Tribal Liaison, and contribute to higher-level strategic planning led by OPC leadership. The incumbent is also responsible for grant and contract management including developing scopes of work and budgets, tracking deliverables, and coordinating with grantees.
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By Michael Esgro, Senior Biodiversity Program Manager & Tribal Liaison
UPDATE: On December 19, 2022, more than 190 countries agreed on a landmark new deal to protect nature and halt biodiversity loss worldwide. The new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for conservation action at an unprecedented scale, and includes a commitment to conserve 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030.
An unprecedented global gathering is currently taking place in Montreal, Canada, where representatives from 195 nations have convened at the United Nations biodiversity conference (COP 15) to negotiate a new agreement to protect the world’s habitats and species. COP 15 has been described as a “Paris moment for nature.” It is a once-in-a-decade chance – and perhaps the last opportunity before it’s too late – for nations to come together to halt extinctions and set the world on a path toward a nature-positive future. But a lack of national-level leadership across the globe, disagreements over financing, and the complexity of the biodiversity crisis itself have caused negotiations to teeter in recent days. Against this backdrop, a group of California leaders arrived in Montreal last week to showcase our state’s global leadership on biodiversity and push for an ambitious agreement aligned with California values.
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Conserving 30% of California’s Coastal Waters by 2030
Please join us for a roundtable discussion on how the state will meet its goal to conserve 30% of coastal waters by 2030, conserve coastal and marine biodiversity, and enhance climate resilience. … read more
By Michael Esgro, Senior Biodiversity Program Manager & Tribal Liaison
Yesterday, hundreds of environmental champions (including OPC leadership and staff!) met at California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) Headquarters in Sacramento for the official kickoff of the 30×30 Partnership. This new collaborative brings together local, state, federal, and tribal leaders from across the state to ensure the voices of all Californians are represented in the state’s bold effort to conserve 30% of its lands and coastal waters by 2030.
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By Mark Gold, D.Env.
Sunday night, the Oceano Azul Foundation hosted the 2022 United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference kickoff at the Lisbon Oceanarium. The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, delivered a powerful speech making it clear that war and refugee crises can’t be used as an excuse for inaction on climate and ocean conservation. President Rebelo de Sousa also praised the environmental non–governmental organization (NGO) community for their tireless pursuit of ocean conservation, children for their bold and clear voices on climate and the oceans, and Portugal for their Marine Protected Area program. To have the leader of the host nation kick off the week in such a bold and candid manner should set the tone for the week.
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Building on California’s global leadership on biodiversity and climate, and following the partnership established with New Zealand last month, Governor Gavin Newsom and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau announced a new partnership on June 9 to advance bold action on climate change and biodiversity conservation. California and Canada signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) focused on fighting climate change, reducing pollution, cutting back on plastic waste, advancing zero-emission vehicles, protecting species and habitats, and building climate resilience.
Credit: Sandra Fogg
At the California Science Center in Los Angeles during the Summit of the Americas, Governor Newsom and Prime Minister Trudeau, along with their respective delegations, held a bilateral meeting to discuss California and Canada’s shared values, which are reflected in the MOC. These include enhancing partnerships with Indigenous Peoples, accelerating biodiversity conservation efforts, and conserving 30% of lands and waters by 2030.
The partnership also advances the goals and objectives of the California Ocean Litter Strategy and Statewide Microplastics Strategy to prevent plastic pollution by partnering on a range of complementary voluntary and regulatory actions spanning the plastics lifecycle in order to address the threats of plastic waste and pollution, including microplastics, on the health of the environment and ecosystems, including wildlife, rivers, lakes and ocean.
A joint statement on the new California-Canada climate action and nature protection partnership can be found here.
“As we look to 2022, our goal at the agency is to… continue California’s global leadership, combating climate change, transitioning our economy, and protecting our people and nature in the meantime. I believe strongly that people are resilient and that nature is resilient. We can adapt and weather these changes we are experiencing right now, and we at the Natural Resources Agency and across state government are focused on strengthening the resilience of our communities, our residents, and of our natural places to these changes we are experiencing. I’m optimistic that we will work harder than ever before and make unprecedented process toward building this resilience.” – from California Natural Resources Secretary and Ocean Protection Council Chair Wade Crowfoot’s end of the year video message
As 2021 brought global challenges to the forefront, the state of California responded with bold, decisive actions to protect our coast and ocean. OPC staff led multiple projects designed to restore wetlands, improve water quality, prevent plastic pollution, respond to environmental justice inequities, promote sustainable fisheries, protect marine wildlife and build resilience to climate change.
Despite the many looming threats, we continue to find hope in the form of scientific solutions to the planet’s biggest problems and in the promising work done by our grantees on the front lines. Join us in celebrating specific achievements from the past year below: … read more
To protect biodiversity, advance equitable access to nature, and combat climate change, the California Natural Resources Agency today released a groundbreaking document detailing strategies and opportunities to conserve 30 percent of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030.
The draft of Pathways to 30×30: Accelerating Conservation of California’s Nature is now available for public review and feedback. Pathways to 30×30 responds directly to Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order N-82-20, which aims to accelerate conservation of California’s lands and coastal waters through voluntary, collaborative action, and makes California the first state to commit to the ambitious global “30×30” target.
Photo by Zack Gold
“The level of collaboration and leadership by OPC on 30×30 has been tremendous. I look forward implementing this strategy together,” says Dr. Jennifer Norris, Deputy Secretary for Biodiversity and Habitat and lead for 30×30 California.
OPC has coordinated closely with Dr. Norris and additional CNRA leadership on the coastal and ocean components of California’s 30×30 initiative, building on the Conservation of Coastal Waters Advisory panel report released earlier this year. The pathway to conserving 30 percent of California’s coastal waters by 2030 will include the 16 percent of state waters currently protected within the state’s network of marine protected areas and a prioritized focus on working with federal resource managers to strengthen biodiversity conservation measures in California’s federally managed National Marine Sanctuaries, which currently cover 40.6 percent of state waters.
Sanctuaries provide an opportunity for California to meet or exceed the 30×30 target while ensuring that access and sustainable use is maintained. Strengthened protections within Sanctuaries could include:
- Restoring and revitalizing indigenous stewardship,
- Phasing out the use of particularly harmful fishing gear,
- Strengthening water quality protections,
- Restoring degraded habitats,
- And/or banning single-use plastics within Sanctuary watersheds.
Moving forward, OPC will be working with the research community, other state and federal agencies, Tribes and Tribal governments, and coastal stakeholders – including commercial and recreational fishermen – to identify areas that are important for biodiversity in California’s coastal waters, assess major threats to biodiversity and explore additional protections that could be implemented to address those threats.
“OPC is looking forward to working with the National Marine Sanctuaries, fishing and environmental communities, and other ocean stakeholders to develop and implement a path to 30 percent conserved coastal waters by 2030”, said Dr. Mark Gold, Deputy Secretary for Oceans and Coastal Policy and Director of the Ocean Protection Council. “We have an extraordinary opportunity to leverage our efforts with the federal 30×30 initiative with an objective of thriving coastal waters.”
Do you have thoughts on how California can best protect biodiversity and achieve “30×30” for the coast and ocean? We want to hear from you! Visit CaliforniaNature.ca.gov to review the draft Pathways to 30×30 document and submit feedback by February 15, 2022.
