The primary objective of the 2015 meeting is to consolidate and operationalize the LME Partnership in accordance with the objectives of the recently approved GEF LME:Learn project and engaging marine and coastal project leaders in meeting those objectives.

The institutional representatives of the LME partnership opened the meeting, Mr. Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary of IOC-UNESCO together with Mr. Julian Barbière, Head of the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section of IOC-UNESCO, Mr. Andrew Hudson, Head of the Water and Ocean Governance Programme of UNDP New York, Mr. Christian Severin, Environmental specialist in charge for the International Waters focal area of the GEF Secretariat, Dr. Ned Cyr, Director for the Office of Science and Technology NOAA Fisheries, Mr. Adi Kellerman, Head of the Science Programme of ICES and Mr. James Oliver, Programme Operations Officer of the IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme. After welcoming the participants, all institutional representatives thanked the 17th LME Planning Committee for the organisation of this meeting with a promising and intensive agenda, and all of them agreed on the excellent opportunity to meet in Paris for the 17th consecutive year in the context of the large marine ecosystem community of practice, this time with the incentive of the recently approved LME:Learn project towards the operationalization of the LME partnership.