A Look Back at the BRIDGES x SIOMPA 2026 Training Program: Five Days to Connect Knowledge and Stakeholders in Conservation

A Look Back at the BRIDGES x SIOMPA 2026 Training: Five Days to Connect Knowledge and Practitioners in Conservation

From September 28 to October 2, 2026, the BRIDGES x SIOMPA training program brought together 19 participants and seven experts at the University of the Witwatersrand’s rural campus in Limpopo, South Africa. Over the course of five days, participants gained a better understanding of marine connectivity and how it is incorporated into conservation planning, as well as field-based initiatives in the southwestern Indian Ocean.

Training Programs to Share Expertise and Strengthen Collaborations

Each year, BRIDGES funds and organizes thematic training programs open to a variety of audiences, focused on the major challenges of studying and managing marine socio-ecosystems. These interdisciplinary training programs promote a socio-ecosystem approach within an interactive, international, and multicultural setting.

Focused on “Marine Connectivity in support of conservation in the Southwest Indian Ocean”, this edition was aimed at doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and researchers working on these issues in the region. Organized in partnership with SIOMPA’s MERMOZ and CO-EXISTENCE projects, it also aimed to strengthen ties among scientists in the southwestern Indian Ocean and to consolidate collaborations with the BRIDGES and SIOMPA programs, particularly around the MERMOZ project.

It brought together participants from South Africa, Mozambique, France (including Réunion and Mayotte), and Tanzania.

Learn more about the training programs

Understanding Connectivity to Inform Conservation

Marine connectivity refers to the ability of marine organisms to move and interact from one site or habitat to another within the oceans, coastal zones, or at the land-sea interface. Understanding these interactions allows us to approach conservation beyond the scope of a single, isolated site, taking into account the connections between marine areas.

Over the course of four modules, participants explored the key connectivity processes in the southwestern Indian Ocean, the tools for modeling and visualizing them, and the methods for measuring them. The sessions then focused on how to use this knowledge to guide conservation planning, policies, and practices.

These complementary perspectives were provided by Christophe Lett (France), Issufo Halo (South Africa), Nicolas Barrier (France), Taryn Murray (South Africa), Romina Henriques (South Africa), Joseph Maina (Australia), and Rodolphe Devillers (France), drawing on oceanography, modeling, ecology, genetics, and conservation planning.

To learn more about these topics, visit the page dedicated to the training program: there you’ll find the program and short video clips filmed on-site, in which the experts explain the basic concepts covered in their modules.

Learn more about the training

Capstone Project – Developing Applied Solutions Through a Collaborative Project

A group project served as the central theme for the week. Divided into six interdisciplinary teams, the participants applied the concepts and methods covered to develop and present a proposal addressing real-world connectivity challenges.

Each team selected one or more marine protected areas in the southwestern Indian Ocean, studied their conservation objectives, characteristics, and history, and proposed a research project designed to generate scientific knowledge to support the management of these protected areas.

New Knowledge, New Connections

Beyond the academic content, these five days were rich in encounters and exchanges among people with diverse backgrounds and research fields. The training helped forge new connections among scientists working on shared challenges in the southwestern Indian Ocean and beyond.

By combining the sharing of expertise with collaborative work, this edition of BRIDGES x SIOMPA 2026 strengthened exchanges between the research communities of both programs and opened up opportunities for collaboration on marine connectivity and conservation.