Who is MiCO for?

MiCO is an invaluable knowledge discovery tool for informing conservation and sustainable use efforts for migratory species, fueled by information shared by our growing network of contributors. As such, MiCO has two main audiences:

Anthropogenic pressures faced by migratory species at different points along their migration routes can negatively impact efforts to conserve them in distant locations. Many existing management and conservation strategies fail to consider this spatial connectivity over their life cycle, contributing to significant declines in many populations worldwide.

By providing synthesized, integrated and easily interpreted knowledge about these global migratory routes and connected areas for marine mammal, seabird, sea turtle and fish species, MiCO seeks to aid conservation and sustainable use efforts across the world’s oceans.

This opportunity to inform the growing number of area-based management efforts will be particularly meaningful for threatened migratory marine species, especially those using international waters and areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).

Knowledge aggregated and generated by MiCO will be directly used to inform ongoing processes to:

• Describe or update Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity
• Support conservation efforts by the family of multilateral agreements under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)
• Conceptualize World Heritage Sites in ABNJ
• Minimize impacts from potential future deep sea mining through the development of regional environmental management plans by the International Seabed Authority
• Support regional marine spatial planning efforts
• Decrease bycatch in high seas fisheries via engagement with regional fisheries management organizations
• Support discussions of connectivity between Exclusive Economic Zones and ABNJ relevant to regional seas organizations
• Ground discussions of how to conserve highly migratory species under a new treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction