Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation

The Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation (BWI) is an independent non-profit organisation. It was set up with the intention to carry out objective science, conservation and education about the marine, coastal and island environments. The BWI was founded in 1999 and conducts research under permits issued by the relevant national authorities. The BWI has more than 10 full time employees and can call upon more than 20 long-term collaborators.

The BWI collaborates with national institutions and governmental bodies including the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian Agency for Environment and Nature, and local and regional authorities including the City of Mali Lošinj and the City of Komiža, various National and Regional Park authorities and other nature conservation institutions.  The BWI works has signed cooperation agreements with the Croatian Natural History Museum, the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split, the Institute of Tourism in Zagreb, and internationally, with the University of Ferrara, the University of Padua, Italy, and the University of Aveiro, Portugal.

In addition, the BWI has worked with institutions from around the globe, including Harvard Law School, Oregon State University, Texas A&M University, University College London, and St Andrews University among others. Since 2004, the BWI has been an institutional partner to the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic area (ACCOBAMS). It is also partner to the Mediterranean Protected Areas Network (MedPAN), the Adriatic Protected Areas Network (AdriaPAN) and a member of the European Network of Science Centres and Museums (ECSITE). www.blue-world.org/about-us/our-networks