Information
- Overall status: Completed
- Published: 6 October 2020
Achievements at a glance
Context: 1,233 MPAs and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) cover 8.9% of the Mediterranean through a large variety of national and international conservation designations. To reach the 10% quantitative part of the CBD Aichi Target 11 and the Barcelona Convention 2020 MPA Roadmap, an additional 27,686 km2 would need to be placed under protection designations.
Achievements: The establishment of a connected, ecologically representative, effectively managed and monitored network of Mediterranean MPAs contributes to the long-term conservation of the marine biodiversity and gives significant support to the sustainable development of the region through the following achievements:
- Collection and analysis of data on Mediterranean MPA coverage and management towards an updated version of the Mediterranean database on MPAs (MAPAMED) and the elaboration of the periodical reports on the status of MPAs in the Mediterranean;
- Establishment of an Ad hoc Group of Experts for MPAs in the Mediterranean (AGEM) to provide scientific advice and technical assistance to Regional Activity Centre on Specially Protected Areas (SPA/RAC) of the Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) and the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention;
- Support the Mediterranean countries in strengthening their policy, legal and institutional frameworks in view of the establishment and management of national networks of MPAs;
- Socio-economic and ecological characterization of marine sites suitable to be declared as MPAs;
- Elaboration of management plans and business plans for newly declared or future MPAs in the Mediterranean basin;
- Support the effective implementation of management plans and monitoring programmes in Mediterranean MPAs;
- Capacity-building and peer-to-peer programmes to develop and strengthen effective management of MPAs;
- Providing support to the environmental fund dedicated to the sustainable financing of Mediterranean MPAs, the MedFund established at the initiative of Monaco, France and Tunisia.
Challenges faced in implementation (if any)
The building of a comprehensive, coherent and well-managed network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a priority in the Mediterranean region, but MPAs critically lack permanent funding for operating costs. Only 10 per cent of marine areas covered by conservation measures duly implement management plans due to the lack of financial resources and technical capacity, as well as legal and policy gaps. The majority of Mediterranean MPAs are still not properly implemented, neither effectively managed, nor enforced, and the current network is not ecologically coherent. The focus should be, henceforth, put on the qualitative aspects of the global and regional MPA targets: e.g. management effectiveness, representativity, connectivity, stakeholder involvement, equitable benefit sharing, etc. There is also a need to establish MPAs in areas beyond national jurisdiction to protect deep-sea habitats. To that end, the extension of the List of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs) established under the Barcelona Convention's Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD Protocol), which currently includes 39 sites, constitutes an important measure to support the conservation of the Mediterranean natural heritage. This extension should embrace, in particular, multilateral and transboundary high sea SPAMIs. A joint cooperation programme between the Secretariats of the UNEP/MAP Barcelona Convention, the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (FAO/GFCM) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on spatial-based protection and management measures for marine biodiversity, is being developed in view of supporting this objective in the Mediterranean region.
Next steps
N/a
Beneficaries & Actions
Who are the beneficaries?
Mediterranean countries (governments, local authorities, public agencies, MPA managers, socio-economic actors, civil society organizations, the scientific community) and people.
What specific actions have been taken to positively impact beneficaries?
See above under Achievements
Information
- Overall status: On track
- Published: 28 January 2020
Achievements at a glance
Recent monitoring and assessment work by the UNEP/MAP Barcelona Convention system under its Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (IMAP) has confirmed the positive impacts of Mediterranean MPAs and networks of MPAs on several biodiversity-related ecological objectives defined towards the achievement of the Good Environmental Status of the Mediterranean. \r\n\r\nAround 1,220 MPAs and OECMs now cover 8.9 per cent of the Mediterranean through a large variety of conservation designations. To reach the 10 per cent quantitative part of the Aichi Target 11, an additional 27,686 km2 (1.1 per cent of the Mediterranean) would need to be placed under protection designations. There is also a need to establish MPAs in areas beyond national jurisdiction to protect deep-sea habitats. To that end, the extension of the network of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs) under the Barcelona Convention\'s Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD Protocol), which presently includes 39 sites, constitutes an important measure to support the conservation of the Mediterranean natural heritage.
Challenges faced in implementation (if any)
The building of a comprehensive, coherent and well-managed network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a priority in the Mediterranean region, but MPAs critically lack permanent funding for operating costs. To date, around 1,220 MPAs and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) cover around 8.9 per cent of the Mediterranean Sea [from 6.81 (2016) to 8.9 (2019)]. However, only 10 per cent of marine areas covered by conservation measures duly implement management plans due to the lack of financial resources and technical capacity, as well as legal and policy gaps. \r\n\r\n
Next steps
N/a
Beneficaries & Actions
Who are the beneficaries?
Mediterranean countries and people
What specific actions have been taken to positively impact beneficaries?
The establishment of a connected, ecologically representative, effectively managed and monitored network of Mediterranean MPAs contributes to the long-term conservation of key elements of the marine biodiversity and gives significant support to the sustainable development of the region through the following achievements:
- Collection and analysis of data on Mediterranean MPA coverage and management towards an updated version of the Mediterranean database on MPAs (MAPAMED) and the elaboration of the periodical reports on the status of MPAs in the Mediterranean;
- Establishment of an Ad hoc Group of Experts for MPAs in the Mediterranean (AGEM) to provide scientific advice and technical assistance to UNEP/MAP-SPA/RAC and the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention;
- At national level, ecological characterization of three marine sites suitable to be declared as MPAs in Lebanon, elaboration of management plans of the Sallum MPA (Egypt), the Jbel Moussa future MPA (Morocco) and the North-Eastern part of Kerkennah Islands future MPA (Tunisia).
Information
- Overall status: On track
- Published: 10 December 2018
Achievements at a glance
(i) The 2016 Forum on MPAs in the Mediterranean was co-organized by the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC of UNEP/MAP: the Mediterranean Action Plan) and the network of MPA managers in the Mediterranean (MedPAN), with the support of the Moroccan High Commission for Water and Forests and the Fight against Desertification (HCEFLCD) (Tangiers, Morocco, 28 November - 1 December 2016). (ii) Data on Mediterranean MPA coverage and management aspects was collected and analyzed. The dataset is available from SPA/RAC and MedPAN, upon request, until the development of an updated version of the SPA/RAC-MedPAN database of MPAs in the Mediterranean (MAPAMED). Based on this data, an assessment of the Mediterranean MPA network status was undertaken and a leaflet summarizing its main findings elaborated and disseminated during the 2016 MPA Forum. (iii) An Ad hoc group of experts for MPAs in the Mediterranean (AGEM) was set up on an experimental basis in the framework of the project. The AGEM First Meeting was held in Tunis (Tunisia) on 22-23 February 2018. The AGEM is providing scientific and technical advice to SPA/RAC. The Second Meeting of the AGEM is planned in Tunis on 21 February 2019. At mid-2019, an evaluation of the AGEM functioning, deliverables will be undertaken. (iv) An ecological characterization of the Sallum MPA (Egypt) was completed by a team of national experts and the related report was elaborated. (v) The ecological characterization of three marine sites suitable to be declared as MPAs in Lebanon was completed. The results of this ecological survey were presented during a national workshop held in Beirut on 16 January 2018. (vi) A socio-economic/stakeholders assessment of the marine part of the Jbel Moussa future MPA (Morocco) was completed and the process for the elaboration of the area management plan is underway. (vii) The process for the elaboration of a management plan for the North-Eastern part of Kerkennah Islands future MPA (Tunisia) is underway.
Challenges faced in implementation (if any)
(i) Challenges and delays related to the project finance and administrative management between UNEP and the donor (EU). (ii) Lengthy autorisation procedures for undertaking marine field surveys in some countries/areas.
Next steps
N/a
Beneficaries & Actions
Who are the beneficaries?
MPA planning and management authorities in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia.
What specific actions have been taken to positively impact beneficaries?
Support has been provided to MPA planning and management authorities in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia in order to run participatory processes in view of the establishment and planning for management of new marine and coastal areas, in line with their national protected areas strategies.