Home » About » History

crinoid fan
Photo by: David Kline

History 

With generous support from the Moore Family Foundation, an inaugural conference was held May 2001. The goal of the conference was to identify priorities in the study of marine biodiversity and conservation, announce the establishment of the Center, and solicit ideas for its future development. Invited participants and guests hailed from a diversity of disciplines and institutions from the social, physical and biological sciences, national and local academic institutions, national and international governmental institutions, NGO's, and industry.

Several themes emerged for which there was universal agreement.

  • First, this is the time to tackle problems affecting marine biodiversity, and SIO is an ideal institution to support these activities.

  • Second, the scale and the urgency of the problems require a bold approach in order to truly make a difference.

  • Third, the need for natural and social scientists to work side by side was acknowledged.

In conclusion, the participants viewed CMBC as a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in the study and conservation of marine biodiversity, by using good, interdisciplinary science as an essential tool to understand and conserve marine biodiversity, and by training the future (first) generation of scientists with broad expertise in marine biodiversity and conservation as well as effective communication skills.

Leadership
Our thanks to  Dr. Nancy Knowlton (2001 - 2007) and Dr. Jeremy Jackson (2007 - 2011) for their visionary leadership.
Dr. Lisa Levin was named Director of CMBC in July 2011. 


Major Accomplishments 

*  Convened four major  international and interdisciplinary marine conferences
*  Created new 4 unit course in policy, law and economics
*  Received two major grants for interdisciplinary training from NSF
*  Created a 16 unit summer intensive interdisciplinary training course
*  Created a new Master of Advanced Studies program in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation 
*  Trained 110 graduate students in communicating science, economic methods and cultural importance
*  Students created an Environmental Science and Policy group at SIO to promote integration of student research into the policy process
*   Established three successful major research efforts ( Pacific Atolls,  Gulf of California, and  Artisanal Fisheries)

New research focus areas

California Coastal Conservation
Deep Sea Conservation
Marine Pollution


 

CMBC was established at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in May 2001 to meet the challenges of marine conservation.

 

video scripps virtual tour