In late September, Blue Pangolin Consulting, represented by Tom, participated in the BiodivEarth Community of Practice (CoP) meeting in Menorca, Spain. The event brought together scientists, site managers, and initiative leaders from across Europe and beyond to explore how ecosystem resilience can be identified, measured, and strengthened through shared learning.
Hosted by BiodivEarth, GOB Menorca, and the Observatorio Socioambiental de Menorca, the three-day meeting focused on refining the CoP’s long-term objectives and building a foundation for the development of a global diagnostic tool for socio-ecological resilience.
Blue Pangolin Consulting has been involved in this Community of Practice since its early stages. During the discussions, Tom shared Blue Pangolin’s experience across coral reef and coastal systems, contributing insights on how lessons from ocean and reef management can inform broader resilience approaches. He encouraged the integration of international policy frameworks, including the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to ensure the diagnostic tool supports countries and organisations in aligning action with global targets and unlocking access to finance.
Field visits across Menorca provided real-world examples of resilience in practice, including the Parella Vella farm, which applies the Custodia Agraria model. This approach connects sustainable agriculture with biodiversity conservation, demonstrating how community stewardship and local governance contribute to ecosystem health.
Participants visit Parella Vella farm in Menorca to explore the Custodia Agraria model, which integrates sustainable agriculture with biodiversity conservation under the island’s lighthouse approach to resilience.
The CoP discussions highlighted that resilience depends on adaptive governance, institutional independence, and public trust. Although approaches vary between sites, participants agreed that the exchange of knowledge between models is key to identifying shared parameters of success. The next phase of the initiative will expand to fifteen additional pilot sites, with the first version of the diagnostic tool expected by August 2026.
Blue Pangolin Consulting will continue contributing expertise on coral reefs, coastal ecosystems, and policy integration to ensure that both ecological and institutional dimensions of resilience are reflected in the final design. This involvement reflects the company’s wider mission to connect science, policy, and implementation so that good practice at the local level can shape effective global action.
And this collaboration continued to Abu Dhabi where Francis represented Blue Pangolin at an event, hosted by BioDiv Earth, at the occasion of the IUCN World Conservation Congress. Francis reaffirmed the need for equitable management of coral reefs, incorporated ecological, community and governance related actions in a landscape approach to coral reef management.
