Information

Overall status: Completed
Published: 6 October 2020

Achievements at a glance

National capacity assessments conducted for seven Southern Mediterranean Countries in relation to monitoring and assessment in line with the UNEP/MAP Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (IMAP) and in coherence with EU Marine Strategic Framework Directive (MSFD).
National IMAPs developed in relation to three clusters (Biodiversity and Non-Indigenous Species (NIS), Coast and Hydrography, and Pollution and Marine Litter) in seven Southern Mediterranean Countries.
National monitoring and implementation capacities strengthened in all seven countries through dedicated national and sub-regional trainings for all three clusters.
Guidance developed for the monitoring of the 27 IMAP common indicators for all three clusters, including Guidance Factsheets for Common Indicators and Monitoring Protocols.
Joint GFCM-UNEP/MAP Sub-Regional Pilot for the Eastern Mediterranean for the monitoring of Non-Indigenous Fish Species developed.
Regional and sub-regional cooperation and exchange of expertise and best practices strengthened through regular meetings of the thematic Ecosystem Approach Correspondence Groups on Monitoring and Focal Points for all three clusters.
Regional cooperation on offshore and shipping monitoring advanced.
Science-Policy Interface for Ecosystem Approach and IMAP implementation enhanced through regional workshops, with specific recommendations developed to support the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention.
Data management system, IMAP Pilot Info System, developed and operational for 11 IMAP common indicators, supported by relevant quality assurance and quality control guidance, data standards and data dictionaries.
Quality Status Report of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast published, as the first, region-wide agreed common indicator-based assessment of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast, based on the IMAP common indicators.
Partnerships strengthened with key actors in the region such as the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (FAO/GFCM) for data and information sharing.
Funding Strategy for the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach in the Mediterranean developed, with a special emphasis on the implementation needs of the IMAP in the Southern Mediterranean.

Challenges faced in implementation (if any)

Key challenges in the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach in the Mediterranean in coherence with the European Union (EU) Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) are related to the difficulties in securing funding to support further national capacity building and implementation, and to ensure the sustainability of monitoring and assessment programmes in the region in the future. Despite progress made on developing common monitoring, assessment and reporting guidance and standards, some challenges related to disparities in terms of available national monitoring and assessment tools, methods, capacities and resources between countries in the region remain. Further harmonization and sharing of tools and methods are therefore required in order to ensure an effective implementation of the Ecosystem Approach in the region. In particular, efforts must be continued to ensure comparable and quality assured data for an integrated assessment of the Good Environmental Status in the Mediterranean in order to support reliable knowledge- and science-based decision-making. Strong and systematic regional and sub-regional collaboration must be encouraged for monitoring and assessment of the status of the Mediterranean Sea and coast, for example through joint regional monitoring pilots. The project helped to demonstrate the importance of a stronger Science-Policy Interface (SPI) to ensure that policies and action are based on the latest science, and that scientific research responds to policy needs. Further efforts are needed to continue strengthening SPI networks at national and regional levels.

Next steps

N/a

Beneficaries & Actions

Who are the beneficaries?

The main beneficiaries of the project were Southern Mediterranean Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia), and more particularly, government decision-makers at national and local levels in these countries, such as representatives from the beneficiary country ministries of environment, fishery as well as relevant general directorates, and national and local institutions responsible for the monitoring and assessment of the marine environment. In addition, through its contributions to developing new tools, methods and promoting good practices, the project had an impact on other stakeholder groups, including the scientific community and specialized international institutions and global initiatives, and other Regional Seas Conventions around Europe (OSPAR, HELCOM, Bucharest Convention). Ultimately, through the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach in the Mediterranean towards the achievement of the Good Environmental Status of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast, the efforts will benefit to the entire population of the region.

What specific actions have been taken to positively impact beneficaries?

Technical and capacity building support to countries in the region provided by UNEP/MAP Components and technical experts identified as part of the project, including provision of technical advice in the development of national IMAPs and organization of national and sub-regional training workshops.
Development of guidance and practical tools and harmonization of methods for integrated monitoring and assessment of the marine and coastal environment in the Mediterranean, in line with the UNEP/MAP IMAP.
Facilitation of regional cooperation and exchange of practices between countries through the creation of national and regional networks of experts, in particular through the set up and regular meetings of thematic Ecosystem Approach Correspondence Groups on Monitoring and Focal Points for all three clusters (Biodiversity and Non-Indigenous Species (NIS), Coast and Hydrography, and Pollution and Marine Litter).
Creation of an IMAP-compatible shared data management system, the IMAP Pilot Info System, and related quality assurance and quality control guidance, data standards and data dictionaries, to ensure harmonized reporting by Contracting Parties of data collected through national monitoring exercises, and to support the production of assessment reports in an integrated manner based on common indicators.
Development of the first assessment product based on the MAP Ecological Objectives and IMAP indicators, the 2017 Mediterranean Quality Status Report, thus contributing to improving the understanding of the state of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast and of data availability and knowledge gaps in relation to IMAP common indicators yet to be addressed.
Organization of workshops bringing together scientists and policy makers, analysis of opportunities and needs, and development of recommendations for strengthening the Science-Policy Interface in support of the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach and IMAP.
Identification of partnerships and resource mobilization opportunities to support sustainability and continuity of results.

Information

Overall status: On track
Published: 4 December 2018

Achievements at a glance

Substantive progress achieved by the Contracting Parties to the Convention for or the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention): 1. Publication of the Quality Status Report 2017 of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast, which is the first, region-wide agreed common indicator-based assessment of the Mediterranean sea and coast, covering both biodiversity, fisheries, non-indigenous species, pollution, marine litter, coast and hydrography; 2. Development in Southern Mediterranean Contracting Parties national monitoring and assessment programmes, in line with new requirements of the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (IMAP) of UN Environment/MAP – Barcelona Convention; 3. Successful implementation of a sub-regional joint pilot in the Eastern Mediterranean (with participation of Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Greece, Lebanon and Turkey) which resulted in a draft sub-regional monitoring plan for Eastern Mediterranean Countries, which is in line with the monitoring frameworks of both the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (FAO-GFCM) and UN Environment/MAP; 4. Strengthened Science-Policy Interface in the region, with an established network of scientists and policymakers, with meetings of interaction addressing key elements of ecosystem approach implementation in the region; 5. Development of an Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme compatible pilot Information and Data Sharing system; 6. Development of an Ecosystem Approach Funding Strategy, with the aim to assist interested countries in the region to mobilize further resources towards achieving Good Environmental Status of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast.

Challenges faced in implementation (if any)

The Ecosystem Approach Funding Strategy, as well as a dedicated exchange of best practices meeting both highlighted some key challenges, which need to be fully addressed in the region to ensure implementation of the ecosystem approach. These challenges include the following: Need of further development of regional and sub-regional monitoring protocols, technical specifics (such as scale of assessment), to ensure comparable data can be the base of the upcoming 2023 Quality Status Report; Need of further support of Southern Mediterranean countries in their efforts to implement their national Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (IMAPs), through on the ground monitoring pilots and through further capacity building and technology transfer; Need to further strengthen science-policy interface, with continuous update and mechanism to be established for ensuring that policymakers can follow relevant scientific projects while scientists can develop their projects in light of policy needs; Need to establish sub-regional work streams next to regional coordination work on monitoring and assessment.

Next steps

UN Environment/MAP – Barcelona Convention Secretariat will ensure project sustainability by integrating all project outputs into its work. Lessons learnt will be capitalized with the sub-regional joint pilot undertaken with FAO-GFCM, in case of country interest, in relation to Non-Indigenous Species (NIS)/Fish. Further financial support will be mobilized, with a focus on the needs of Southern Mediterranean countries, to address challenges faced by these Contracting Parties on the full implementation of the Ecosystem Approach.

Beneficaries & Actions

Who are the beneficaries?

The voluntary commitment/project has strengthened all over the Mediterranean the implementation of the ecosystem approach, with a strong focus on project beneficiaries, i.e. Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia.

What specific actions have been taken to positively impact beneficaries?

The voluntary commitment/project has resulted in the development/update of national monitoring programmes in the beneficiary countries, covering areas of biodiversity and non-indigenous species, pollution and marine litter, coast and hydrography.