Towards a Representative Network of Mediterranean Marine Managed Areas. Lebanon s Marine Protected Areas Strategy

Transcription

1 Nereus Towards a Representative Network of Mediterranean Marine Managed Areas Towards a Representative Network of Marine Protected Areas in Libya Conservación y desarrollo sostenible del mar de Alborán Lebanon s Marine Protected Areas Strategy Conservation et développement durable de la mer d Alboran Supporting the management of important marine habitats and species in Lebanon COLLECTION 2014 Monitoring Marine Invasive Species in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) A strategy and practical guide for managers INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE UNIÓN INTERNACIONAL PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN DE LA NATURALEZA IUCN-MED Parque Tecnológico de Andalucia Marie Curie, Campanillas (Malaga) uicnmed@iucn.org Tel Fax IUCN-MED Parque Tecnológico de Andalucia Marie Curie, Campanillas (Malaga) uicnmed@iucn.org Tel Fax Core support to the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation is provided by: Las actividades del Centro de Cooperación del Mediterráneo están financiadas principalmente por: Funded by: Les herbiers de Magnoliophytes marines de Méditerranée Mediterranean Seagrass Meadows: Resilience and Contribution to Climate Change Mitigation Résilience et contribution à l atténuation des changements climatiques Les herbiers de Magnoliophytes marines de Méditerranée : résilience et contribution à l atténuation des changements climatiques A Short Summary North Africa Marine Conservation Sites Review Legal and Institutional framework profile for MPAs in Morocco Legal and Institutional framework profile for MPAs in Tunisia (Draft) (Draft) (Draft) Résumé Atelier méditerranéen d échange d expérience MedPAN 2013 Surveillance et réglementation dans les AMP: comment optimiser l efficacité et la durabilité des actions novembre 2013 Hyères, France C A R / A S P R A C / S P A C A R / A S P Partneritetit Strategjik për Ekosistemin e Madh të Detit Mesdhe MedMPAnet Projekti Rajonal për Zhvillimin e Rrjetit Mesdhetar të Zonave të Mbrojtura Detare dhe Bregdetare nëpërmjet nxitjes së Krijimit dhe Menaxhimit të ZMD-ve R A C / S P A C A R / A S P The Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (MedPartnership) Project SHQIPËRIA DHE ZONAT E MBROJTURA DETARE Vlerësimi i kuadrit ligjor dhe institucional për ruajtjen e biodiversitetit bregdetar dhe detar dhe krijimin e ZMD-ve MedMPAnet Regional Project for the Development of a Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MPAs) Network through the Boosting of MPAs Creation and Management R A C / S P A C A R / A S P The Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (MedPartnership) Project MONTENEGRO AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS Legal and Institutional framework assessment for conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity and the establishment of MPAs MedMPAnet Regional Project for the Development of a Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MPAs) Network through the Boosting of MPAs Creation and Management R A C / S P A The Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (MedPartnership) Project CROATIA AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS Legal and Institutional framework assessment for conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity and the establishment of MPAs MedMPAnet Regional Project for the Development of a Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MPAs) Network through the Boosting of MPAs Creation and Management Project CROATIA AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS (DRAFT) Legal and Institutional framework assessment for conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity and the establishment of MPAs Legal and Institutional framework profile for MPAs in Libya (Draft)

2 LINKS AND CONTACTS MedRAS project marine_protected_areas/regional_work/priority_representative_areas_and_species/ NEREUS project For more information on the project, please contact

3 Index Links and contacts... 2 List of acronyms... 4 Background and summary of the results Partners, cooperation and coordination Activities in Countries Outputs of NEREUS project Annexes Nereus by Country Summary Table Nereus at the Regional Level By Topics Nereus by Partners Financial Report Nereus

4 ACRONYMS ANPE APAL BP/RAC BR CAQ CBD CIESM COP EBSA EcAP EGA ELC FAMPA FAO FRA GFCM GMPP ICZM IMPAC IUCN-Med MAVA MEDINA MedPAN MedPO MedRAS MedWET MPA NEREUS NGO OCEANA PACO PAP/RAC RAC RAC/SPA RAMSAR ROV ROWA SAP/BIO Region SAC SEE SPAMI SPA-BD UAV UfM UNEP/MAP UNDP WCPA WHS WWF Agence nationale pour la Protection de l Environnement (Tunisie) Agence pour la Protection et l Aménagement du Littoral (Tunisie) Regional Activity Centre of the Blue Plan (UNEP/MAP) Biosphere reserve (UNESCO) Committee on Aquaculture (GFCM) Convention on Biological Diversity Commission Internationale pour l Exploration Scientifique de la Méditerranée Conference of Parties Ecologically or Biologically Sensitive Areas (CBD) Ecosystem Approach (UNEP/MAP) Environmental General Authority (Libya) Environmental Law Centre (IUCN) French Agency on Marine Protected Areas Food and Agriculture Organization Fisheries Restricted Areas (GFCM-FAO) General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (FAO) Global marine and Polar Programme (IUCN) Integrated Coastal Zone Management International Marine Protected Areas Conference IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation MAVA Foundation Marine ecosystem and Indicators in North Africa (EU project FP7) Mediterranean Protected Areas Network Mediterranean Project Office (WWF) Mediterranean Representative Areas and Species (MAVA project) Mediterranean Wetland Initiative (Ramsar Convention) Marine Protected Area MAVA Project Non-Governmental Organization International Organization Programme Afrique Centrale et Occidentale (IUCN) Priority Action Programme Regional Activity Centre (UNEP/MAP) Regional Activity Centre (UNEP/MAP) Regional Activity Centre Specially Protected Areas (UNEP/MAP) Convention for the conservation of wetlands of international importance Remote Operating Vehicle (scientific investigation tool) Regional Office for Western Asia (IUCN) Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean Scientific Advisory Committee (GFCM-FAO) Southern and Eastern Europe Office of IUCN Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (RAC/SPA-BD) Specially protected Areas and Biological Diversity Protocol (UNEP/MAP) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone) Union for the Mediterranean United Nations Environment Programme, Mediterranean Action Plan United Nations Development Programme World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN) World Heritage Site (UNESCO) World Wide Fund for Nature (previously World Wildlife Fund) 4

5 Background and summary of the results The Mediterranean Sea possesses important biodiversity and unique biological values with a high level of endemism of marine fauna and flora. In order to promote sustainable marine resource use and marine biodiversity conservation, a number of international and national projects are orientated towards the creation of networks of marine conservation zones. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development have established measurable targets for terrestrial and marine protected area coverage, to be achieved by 2010 and 2012 respectively: By 2010, terrestrially and 2012 in the marine area, a global network of comprehensive, representative and effectively managed national and regional protected area system is established (Decision VII/28, CBD 2004). To assist the countries and the experts in the process of declaring more MPAs, the CBD has developed the concept of Ecologically or Biologically Sensitive Areas (EBSA), based on existing knowledge, and allowing to consider areas for future management measures or declaration as conservation areas. In 2010, the Aichi target 11 ask the countries: By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes. Within the Mediterranean, multiple organisations at the regional and international levels are focussing on the conservation and sustainable management of marine and coastal natural resources. At the international and regional level, in addition to the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, the most relevant are the Barcelona Convention (UNEP-Mediterranean Action Plan) and its regional Activity Centres (RAC/SPA, PAP/ RAC, Blue Plan RAC), the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM-FAO), the Agreement for the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black and Mediterranean Seas (ACCOBAMS), the Mediterranean Wetlands initiative of the RAMSAR Convention (MedWET), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the World Wildlife Fund Mediterranean Project Office (WWF-MedPO) and its national offices, the Mediterranean Protected Areas Network (MedPAN association) and OCEANA. 5

6 MAIN OBJECTIVE OF NEREUS NEREUS is a development of the inception project named Med- RAS project, funded by MAVA and Total Foundations in 2009 and Its main objective is to gather, produce, synthesize and communicate information on the marine environment (species, features, resources and threats) and to identify conservation priority sites in the Mediterranean Sea. The ultimate aim is the identification, designation and networking of representative sites at the national, sub-regional and regional levels as a support to the protection of the Mediterranean in cooperation and coordination with all the national, regional and international organisations and institutions. The project NEREUS Identifying areas, features, species and threats in the Mediterranean Sea for building a representative network of marine managed areas for conservation was signed (Contract 10/018) on 17 November 2010 and includes the following objectives: To increase, based on an open partnership, the conservation and management of extremely valuable marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean marine areas under national jurisdiction To develop joint efforts with: The Mediterranean Action plan (MAP-UNEP-Barcelona Convention) for the Ecosystem Approach at the regional level The RAC/SPA for the Mediterranean High Seas and for the Species Action Plans MedWet for the Mediterranean wetlands ACCOBAMS for the conservation of Cetaceans GFCM for fisheries management WWF-MedPO, MedPAN and their partners for capacity enhancement, education and awareness on the marine and coastal environment and its management To analyze jointly the progress done and to redefine each year the priority areas for support. The geographical coverage of the project, at the present stage, considers the following areas and countries as first priority: North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt Eastern Mediterranean: Lebanon, Syria and Turkey And as second priority, due to existing support programmes from the European Union and of some of the partners, countries for which funds could be allocated for during the project: Eastern Adriatic: Slovenia Croatia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Montenegro & Albania SUMMARY OF THE ACTIVITIES Initially, the project was planning different approaches in order to facilitate the identification and declaration of a representative and coherent network of marine managed areas: A national approach for the identification of sites of importance for marine conservation to identify the most coherent and representative network of marine managed areas based on the existing knowledge. Such work was done in Libya, Lebanon, the Alboran Sea (Algeria, Morocco, Spain) The preparation of technical documents concerning ecosystems or species (such as the resilience to climate change of the seagrass meadows) to better understand the need for conservation, including the carbon annual fixation and long term stock. The preparation and adoption of strategic documents for marine conservation (Lebanon MPAs Strategy), the identification of sites at the national (Lebanon, Libya) or subregional level (Alboran) and site proposal for conservation to be included in the official list of the national institutions and/or international organisations, identifying gaps and hindrances (such as SPAMI, RAMSAR, WHS, Biosphere reserves) Communication of the results in international, regional or national fora and conferences in the Mediterranean. During the development of the project, new challenges and needs for the declaration and management of MPAs have appeared, and in particular: The need for an analysis, at the national level, of the existing legislation and of the relevant institutions competent for the identification, declaration and management of MPAs The identification of gaps in knowledge in specific areas, in particular the offshore and deep sea areas in national waters needing specific research tools and methodologies. This needs further investigation and development, including innovative approaches such as the use of UAV (un-manned aerial vehicle) for the surface or ROV for the deep sea. The potential use of some labels to assist the country in their official declaration as MPAs. The fisheries restricted areas (FRAs) of the GFCM-FAO are a good example, four specific sites have been designated and a large one corresponding to depth below 1000m. As some countries are declaring only some conservation areas (not all) for inclusion in international lists, such as the Mediterranean Action Plan database located in the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (Barcelona Convention), this list is not representative of their conservation efforts. An in depth analysis of the conservation areas declared at the national or international level by countries could allow to showcase the efforts done by these countries, but also to identify the multiple administrations in charge (with sometimes overlapping needing a clarification of the respective mandates) but also their lack of capacity in managing them. This was developed for North African countries with MedPAN and has brought important results. 6

7 TARGETED COUNTRIES The geographical coverage of the project considers the following areas and countries as first priority: For North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt For the Eastern Mediterranean: Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey And as second priority, due to existing support programmes from the European Union and of some of the partners, countries for which funds could be allocated for during the project along the Eastern Adriatic coast were Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia/ Herzegovina, Montenegro & Albania. INITIAL PARTNERS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARTNERSHIP. At the start of the project, IUCN-Med was coordinating the project with the collaboration of ACCOBAMS, MedWET, RAC/ SPA and MedPAN. During the frame of the project, additional coordination and cooperation was developed with the Secretariat of the Barcelona Convention (UNEP/MAP, with the signature of a Memorandum of Cooperation in December 2013), the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (a formal memorandum of cooperation will be signed in 2014), and with OCEANA. Discussions were held in 2012 and 2013 and are still going at the regional level on with the Union for the Mediterranean, but also at the national level with specialised agencies, administrations, institutions, experts or stakeholders (including NGOs or other representatives of the civil society) relevant for the marine and coastal environment. Details will be provided in the frame of this report. Inside IUCN, links were developed or tighten with the different regional and international departments such as ROWA, SEE and PACO at the regional level and GMPP, WCPA, ELC at the global level. Due to the complexity (and multiple activities developed) of the project and in order to facilitate the understanding of the reader, the report is developed in three parts 1. Cooperation and coordination with other partners (existing at the beginning and new partners) 2. Activities in countries 3. Communication and Outputs 7

8 1. Partners, cooperation and coordination Since 2011, the initial partnership has been developed, from the four initial ones: ACCOBAMS, MedWET, RAC/SPA and MedPAN, it has been extended to the UNEP-MAP Secretariat of the Barcelona Convention (MoU signed in December 2013) and to GFCM (Memorandum of Understanding ready for signature in 2014). In addition OCEANA has been working closely with IUCN- Med for the deep sea environments. Concerning the cooperation with WWF, even if still limited with WWF-MEDPO, it has been increased with the national offices of WWF in some countries, in particular Spain, France and Tunisia and an effort is still going on to include other countries. IUCN CONSTITUENCY Inside IUCN, since the start of the project, the cooperation was tight with the Global Marine and Polar Programme (GMPP) and the Species Survival Commission (SSC) and has been developed with the Environmental Law Centre (ELC) and with the World Commission for Protected Areas (WCPA, Marine, Mediterranean section in particular). Other IUCN commissions are contacted according to the needs. Concerning IUCN regional offices, coordination and cooperation is going on with the three the South Eastern Office (concerning the Adriatic), with the Regional Office for West Asia (ROWA, concerning the Eastern Mediterranean) and Western and Central Africa Regional Office (PACO, Programme pour l Afrique Centrale et Occidentale) concerning the development of a regional network of MPAs, including in particular Morocco (Atlantic side with an important population of Mediterranean monk seal), Mauritania and Senegal). Inside IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, there was always a strong liaison with the North African Programme, the Species, Ecosystems and Communication departments Specific activities developed with some IUCN Global Programmes or Commissions Work with GMPP (Global Marine and Polar Programme) has been continuous and allowed to join some global concerns for conservation of natural resources (in particular on rela- tion between Blue carbon and Posidonia oceanica) and a global vision and exchanges of experience on the coastal areas Work with WCPA (World Commission on protected Areas): in addition to the development of the Mediterranean marine protected areas database with MedPAN, discussion have been held on certification mechanisms of protected areas, or their staff, following existing experience in other parts of the world. Meetings Global coast meeting in Zanzibar to strengthen regional cooperation and identify support to and from regional activities in the Mediterranean (March 2012, 3 to 11) MPAs certification mechanisms at the regional and global levels, in Denmark (April 2012, 23-24) Editorial board meeting for national review of legislation and institution related to MPAs and marine conservation with ELC and regional stakeholders in Malaga, Spain (April 2013, 30) MAVA meeting on activities in the Dinaric region (IUCN Med and IUCN South Eastern Europe attending (February 2013, 27 to March 3) Participation to IMPAC3 in Marseilles, France (October 2013, 21-27) Discussion with MAVA in other regional events or during visits to IUCN headquarters ACCOBAMS The Agreement for the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black and Mediterranean Seas (ACCOBAMS) and IUCN-Med have always had relations and a Memorandum of cooperation was signed in particular concerning the participation of IUCN to the ACCOBAMS scientific committee in relation with cetaceans conservation and the cetaceans red list evaluation and review. Since the last Conference of Parties (COP5 November 2013), 8

9 IUCN has been requested to propose 3 experts to be members of the Scientific Committee, to be validated by the parties and one of them being the vice president or the president of the SC, alternating with CIESM, designating 3 other experts. In addition to this, they have signed in 2012 a Framework Agreement including also the RAC/SPA and the French Agency for Marine Protected Areas (FAMPA) concerning specific activities related to marine mammals and deep sea conservation (canyons and seamounts). Due to administrative issues, this action will be now developed in In the initial stage of NEREUS, it was difficult to define properly joint activities between the two Parties, as the system of ACCOBAMS is very administrative and necessitates a long process to develop action in the countries. The only cooperation activity at this stage was the provision of information within countries during visits, the contact with relevant administration to designate a focal point (Libya), discussions with experts and the identification of their needs and possible activities to be developed. In 2012, new options were identified, following a call for project by ACCOBAMS, and some of them being pending availability of finance within the ACCOBAMS budget. Support to Libya for the identification of cetaceans populations in the eastern part of the country. Following the document prepared with MAVA: Towards a network of marine protected areas in Libya (2011), this matter was identified as a gap in the knowledge and that progress could allow justifying the extension offshore of some proposed sites. In order to develop this project end 2012 and 2013, a message has been sent to the Environmental General Authority of Libya (EGA) to inform them and ask them to be involved in the process. This activity was planned to be co-organized by ACCOBAMS, RAC/SPA and the UNDP office in Libya but has been postponed. Support to Lebanon, where the preparation of a photo identification catalogue has been considered as too academic and could be modified in order to prepare a mapping of the main species of marine mammals (and others representatives of the megafauna such as turtles) in the Lebanese territorial waters. This activity was planned to be co-organized with ACCOBAMS and RAC/SPA, but has been delayed. Support to Mediterranean Southern and Eastern Countries (Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey) in training and capacity building on by-catch issues of cetaceans and other endangered species in MPAs, and surroundings. This was finally developed in 2013 in Morocco and Algeria and co-organized by ACCOBAMS, GFCM and RAC/SPA. Meetings attended Scientific committee SC7 in Monaco (March 2011, 29-31), in Roma, Italy (November 2011, 14-18), SC8 in Monaco (November 2012, 13-15) ACCOBAMS Conference of Parties 4 in Al Jedida, Morocco (February 2012, 5-9) ACCOBAMS Conference of Parties 5 in Tangiers, Morocco (November 2013, 5-8) Planned Scientific Committee SC9 Monaco, April 2014 MEDWET MEDWET and IUCN are cooperating on a regular basis as IUCN-Med is one of the members of the MedWET Steering Committee and is following most of the activities or events of MedWET, in particular in relation with the coastal lagoons and the designated sites covering the marine environment. MedWET has been a partner of the project from the beginning, the first specific joint activity being the identification of an expert to prepare Adriatic countries country profiles for the legal and administrative aspects related to marine and coastal conservation, including wetlands. The priority for MedWET being the Eastern Adriatic, an expert was identified and activated for the inventory and analysis of the legislation of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. A budget has been allocated to the consultant from January to July The extension of the consultant contract is planned considering the important progress and the amount of information gathered in the Eastern Adriatic countries (covering Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania. Discussions with RAC/SPA have led to an additional support for this activity by RAC/SPA concerning the four first countries, Slovenia being an European country, but the exercise will allow to compare the difference between non-european and Europeans countries (responding to the EU Directives, Policies or Initiatives). Early 2013, other countries have been identified for the same exercise, and the first results are provided by the experts. Four of the five countries of North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt) and Turkey were considered and are at different level of progress. Within the framework of another project financed by EC (MEDINA project), IUCN-Med has identified consultants in Tunisia and Egypt and requested Algeria and Libya to designate an expert for the same purpose. The same process is under way in all the countries and the objective could be to provide all the relevant stakeholders, national or regional, with an analysis of the relevant legislation and institutions having mandate for the marine environment. The objective was to prepare a legal and institutional marine environment profile/assessment for each country, to be updated when needed according to change and progress. In addition, the experts activated will constitute a network available for any partners, for exchange of information and lessons learned in the different Mediterranean countries. New cooperation projects are in preparation, being postponed due to the change of position of the Secretariat of MedWET, from Greece to France. 9

10 Meetings MedWET Meeting in Agadir, Morocco to plan for the next 20 years (Agadir Commitment) (February 2012, 05-09) MedWET steering Committee in Paris (March 2012, 28-30) RAMSAR and MedWET meeting in Bucharest, Romania (July 2012, 5 to 7) MedWET steering Committee in Gland (December 2012, 17-18) MEDPAN Collaboration with MedPAN has always been positive and open, the objectives of the two organizations being complementary and the results beneficiary for both. MedPAN and IUCN-Med have signed a memorandum of cooperation on 24 November 2010 covering all the elements quoted in the following box. IUCN-Med has also applied (and been accepted) to be an official partner of the MedPAN NGO (French association according to Law of 1901). In December 2011, a sub-grant agreement was prepared and signed with MedPAN covering the preparation and edition of the Status of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas, realized also with the participation of the RAC/SPA and published in December 2012 In 2012, an agreement, was signed between IUCN-Med and MedPAN for a specific support for the forum of MPAS, to be held in Turkey, in particular for supporting the participation of representative of the southern and eastern countries of the Mediterranean In 2013, within the framework of the MedPAN North and MedPAN south projects, in collaboration with WWF France and WWF-MedPO, some documents have had an important input of IUCN Med, such as the Monitoring of invasive species in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (published in English, French and Spanish and considered now to be translated in Italian by FederParchi on their own budget, and the Guide for quick evaluation of management in marine protected areas, published in English, French and Italian. In 2013, a specific agreement was signed between IUCN- Med and MedPAN for a specific support for the realization of a survey in North African countries concerning all existing figures of protection in the region, including international, regional and national categories and labels (including in particular SPAMIs, Biosphere reserves, World Heritage Sites, Ramsar Sites, and the different national categories covering the marine environment). The existing map prepared by MedPAN end of 2012 includes 11 sites for the 5 countries of North Africa, following the official declaration to UNEP/MAP by the countries. The survey has identified, without the fishery reserves, 95 sites that could be grouped in 44 areas important for conservation. The document (draft prepared for December 2013) is under revision and will be published after review early In addition to these points, the coordination between MEdPAN and IUCN-Med has been covering multiple elements indicated 1. Strengthening of scientific evidence on issues of common interest, especially on natural resources and biodiversity, and jointly develop as appropriate new fields of investigations or innovative approaches, especially in relation to ecosystem services, sustainable development and reduction of poverty; 2. Collaborating for the formulation of sustainable development frameworks and guidelines; 3. Developing collaboration to MedPAN activities : a. Development of a common database of Mediterranean marine protected areas; b. Preparation jointly of documents (reports, statements) on the situation of Mediterranean marine protected areas in the light of the international objectives; c. Organisation jointly of conferences on Mediterranean marine protected areas d. Coordination of call for projects e. Organisation of thematic exchange experience and training workshops (on priority themes identified jointly; f. Development and publication of management tools on the priority themes identified jointly and development of an overall structure and common branding and layout for the series of guidebooks g. Development of a support system to improve the capacity of marine protected area managers in each of the Mediterranean countries; h. Communication on Mediterranean marine protected areas and the network with managers, socio-professional stakeholders, the wider public and authorities in Mediterranean countries; i. Representation of the network of marine protected areas within various bodies and international conferences and in particular at the Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity. 4. Joining efforts for the improvement of governance of the Mediterranean; 5. Working together on the identification and implementation of tools for sustainable development such as the Ecosystem Approach, Protected Areas, Integrated Coastal Zone Management, 6. Developing and reinforcing communication partnerships on subject of common interest 10

11 in the MOU, such as the review of existing documents, the evaluation of the small projects initiative, the provision of information on MPAs, the participation to events and to the board and steering committee of the MedPAN NGO. Meetings attended Steering Committee in Barcelona (July 2012, 09-11) MPAs forum in Antalya, Turkey (November 2012, 25-30) Meeting on marine invasive species organized in Malaga, Spain (May 2013, 16-17) BARCELONA CONVENTION AND REGIONAL ACTIVITY CENTRES (RACS) Concerning the Barcelona Convention, the Mediterranean Action (MAP-UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Barcelona Convention, based in Athens, the cooperation is based on the development a specific Memorandum of cooperation, negotiated and finally adopted by the contracting parties during their conference in Istanbul in December The cooperation between the MAP and IUCN-Med has been reflected in the recommendations adopted by the Contracting parties during their meeting in Paris of 2011 (COP 18, February 2012, UNEP(DEPI)/MED IG.20/CRP.XX, Annex I, Paris Declaration, Extract of the text quoted hereafter) the contracting parties have recommended to further reinforce cooperation between all actors in the marine and coastal environment of the Mediterranean and welcoming the ongoing efforts to enhance cooperation with the Secretariats of the Union for the Mediterranean, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the International Maritime Organization, IUCN and the other regional seas conventions and programmes, and future cooperation with all other relevant organizations. Within the priorities the following have been considered as high priorities: Participation in the ecosystem approach for the Mediterranean Contribution to the Mediterranean monitoring programme and in particular to the certification of SPAMIs Contribution to the communication of Mediterranean issues and concerns with the Civil Society High seas (open seas) and deep seas: engaging IUCN in the process of reinforcing regional cooperation for the scientific evaluation of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas Evaluation of species listed in the SPA protocol to consider the move from Annex 3 to Annex 2, with a particular attention to sharks and rays. The final document signed in December 2013 is provided in Annex. Concerning the Regional Activity Centres of the MPA, numerous actions are planned in coordination and in cooperation and in particular the following: The RAC for Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity (RAC/SPA-BD): a memorandum of understanding has been signed and specific agreements have been developed, in particular for the review of the legislation and institutions for Marine Protected Areas in some Adriatic Countries and another for the declaration of SPAMIs in the Alboran Sea, the Sicily-Tunisia channel and the Northern Adriatic. In both cases these activities are co-financing previous and on-going activities financed by MAVA. Specific meetings have been held within these agreements, usually with governmental authorities of the concerned countries. The RAC for the Blue Plan (BP/RAC): joint actions and coordination is developed for specific approaches developed at the Mediterranean, such as the Ecosystem Approach (EcAP) and with a specific attention to the economic value of ecosystems. Specific meetings have been held, usually with experts from regional institutions. The RAC of the Priority Action Programme (PAP/RAC) in charge of the implementation of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Protocol of the Barcelona Convention: the ICZM protocol covers both terrestrial (usually the coastal watershed) and marine environment (internal and territorial waters in the absence of concerted declaration of the Exclusive Economic Zones) through Coastal Areas management Plans such as the ones for Almeria and Al Hoceima. As the first step for the marine environment is to develop a marine spatial planning approach, and based on the previous experiences developed in the Alboran Sea, discussions have been held for assisting the countries in the development of similar initiatives. Meetings attended and planned Blue Plan meeting on economics of natural resources, Sophia Antipolis, France (October 2012, 11-12) PAP/RAC meeting in Almeria, Spain on the Coastal Area Management Plan of Almeria (February 2013, 04) Ecosystem approach for the Mediterranean, meeting in Blue Plan, Sophia Antipolis (April 2013, 10-12) Ecosystem approach for the Mediterranean, meeting MAP, Athens, Greece (April 2013, 23-25) Technical meeting on monitoring in Alicante, Spain, organized by RAC SPA and with representatives of different North African Countries, including Libya (September 2013, 27-28) Mediterranean Action Plan Conference of Parties in Istanbul, Turkey (December 2013, 02-06) Based on the cooperation between the MAP and the IUCN- Med, a request of support has been received for assisting the CBD and the UNEP MAP for the realization of a workshop on EBSAs in 2014 (April 7 to 11). During the activities concerning the Adriatic countries of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia, realized with a co-funding support from RAC SPA, several meetings took place with governmental authorities: Albania, 11

12 Tirana (July 2013, 09-11), Montenegro, Podgorica (July 2012, and July 2013, 27-27) Croatia, Zagreb (June 2013, 13-15). It was not possible to organize a meeting in Bosnia Herzegovina. Participation to the Strategic Action Plan for Biodiversity meeting in 2012 in Malaga and in 2013 in Rabat, Morocco (July 2013, 02-05) Meetings attended GFCM meeting in Roma, Italy (April 2013, 6-10) GFCM meeting in Malta (November 2013, 26-30) GFCM meeting in Podgorica, Montenegro, was attended in February 2014 with the presentation of the results on FRAs quoted in the previous paragraphs. Meetings for coordination in other regional events OCEANA GFCM The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), as part of the FAO, is regulating the fisheries activities in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, on topics agreed by all the Contracting parties. A Memorandum of cooperation has been negotiated during the past two years and could be agreed upon in 2014, defining the areas of coordination and cooperation. The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, in addition to meeting of all Parties, includes specific bodies for specific topics. IUCN is invited to all meetings and attend usually the conference of parties and the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and the Committee on Aquaculture (CAQ), both concerned by sustainable activities in the marine environment, including coastal lagoons. Contacts have been developed with OCEANA for exploring the feasibility of joint missions in the deep sea when countries were considering the declaration of deep sea areas, and in particular the declaration of the GFCM-FAO Fisheries restricted areas (FRA) as Marine Protected Areas. Based on this, OCEANA has developed contacts with Lebanon to support the implementation of the national strategy for MPAs in the deep sea environment. OCEANA preliminary contacts for actions in the Mediterranean, in particular deep sea habitats surveys Meetings Coordination meeting in Malaga (December 2012) Coordination meetings during regional events Deep sea conservation options have also been explored, looking at relation (or complementarity) between existing instruments, in particular the SPAMI classification (under the SPA-Biological Diversity protocol of the Barcelona Convention) and the Fishery Restricted Areas (FRA) mechanism (GFCM- FAO) banning trawling for depth below 1000m in the whole Mediterranean. A reflection has been conducted on two options for the countries: (a) to identify and declare FRAs as MPAs or SPAMI when in their territorial waters, or (b) to declare them as SPAMIs at the regional level, alone or jointly with other countries when outside their territorial waters. The first option seeming the most promising, in 2013, a document has been prepared with the support of the University of Sevilla, on the coverage of the figure of management developed by GFCM, the Fisheries Restricted Areas below 1000m in the whole Mediterranean and in the territorial waters of the different countries. This document has been discussed with some countries (France, Lebanon) and organizations (GFCM, ACCOBAMS, Barcelona Convention) and some positive responses have been made. In particular Lebanon has included these deep areas as an option for declaration as MPAs in their National Strategy for MPAs. During the recent meeting (early 2014), the Scientific Advisory Committee of the GFCM has included in its report a draft recommendation for declaration of FRAs in territorial waters as MPAs. The document, still under revision, will be published early

13 2. Activities in Countries At the level of the countries, as indicated at the beginning of the project, a list of 10 countries were considered for activities, all being non-european, in order to reduce the gaps between European Union pro-active efforts within the EU countries. Some of these countries have accessed to the EU during the frame of the project, and activities developed has been used (Croatia) or are used (Montenegro, Albania) by these countries during the accession process concerning the marine environment and in particular MPAs and Marine Spatial Planning. Specific activities within specific countries have been developed (see next table), the most recent being the adoption (December 2012) by the Ministry of Environment of Lebanon of its national strategy for marine protected areas. REGIONAL APPROACH In collaboration with the University of Sevilla (Marine Plan website), the survey on the existence of Fisheries Restricted Areas (GFCM-FAO) in territorial waters with the objective of declaring them as Marine Protected Areas. The following table provide the summary of the results in all the Mediterranean countries and the percentage of their territorial waters concerned by FRAs. A specific report is under preparation on the results, including the map for each country and the management measure to be considered. In each country, discussion could be held with the Government and in particular the Ministries of Fisheries and Environment to declare this area as a marine conservation area. A preliminary meeting was held with a company specialised in the use of UAV with a component on environmental matters for investigating the possibility (feasibility study) to realise surveys of marine mammals and marine turtles in the Alboran Sea (pilot site) and at a later stage in the whole Mediterranean. Quotes were provided and the implementation will be considered if budgets are available. The IUCN-Med was participating as a partner to the EU funded PEGASO project (Mediterranean and Black Seas) concerning the implementation of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management, including the consideration of MPAs as a specific tool participating to the process. This project has had an influence on the change in position of the different countries concerning MPAs, their different categories and their importance for the sustainable management of the marine environment. MULTIPLE COUNTRIES APPROACH North Africa: Morocco, Algeria Tunisia, Libya, Egypt For the five countries of North Africa, links with the activities of the North Africa programme of IUCN-MED, funded by MAVA, have been tight. In collaboration with MedPAN, a survey was conducted on the coastal and marine sites under conservation measures in North Africa, in order to provide an update on the conservation activities of the different government. Only 11 sites were listed in previous documents, and a total of 95 sites have been identified, without considering the marine reserves. The 95 sites have been regrouped in 44 important areas for conservation efforts in the North African region, of which 6 are in Morocco, 10 in Algeria, 16 in Tunisia, 6 in Libya and 6 in Egypt. The results were included in the MAPAMED database for further analysis. A report is under preparation for the whole North Africa but a summary is presented hereafter. Country Marine area in km² % of territorial waters Morocco Algeria Tunisia Libya Egypt Total Average 1.12 A draft or an expert report of a document on the Country legal and institutional profile for MPA in the five countries was prepared by national consultants and reviewed by IUCN-ELC and IUCN-MED before edition, printing and diffusion. The 13

14 process has been completed for 3 countries and is still pending for two others (Libya and Algeria). The next steps could be a workshop with national authorities in order to review and consider recommendations for the future. MEDINA Project Within the EU project MEDINA (North Africa) concerning Integrated Coastal Zone Management and the facilitation of research using satellite data collection has brought together multiple stakeholders and allowed to identify future options for activities. Eastern Adriatic Countries approach The Eastern Adriatic included at the beginning of the project one European country, Slovenia and four non-european countries: Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina et Croatia. The work done, in collaboration with MedWET, in the four non-european countries on the identification of legal instruments and responsible administrations for the identification, declaration and management of Marine Protected Areas, using as expert Faidra Bazoglou, was been considered positively by RAC/SPA. Therefore, in the context of the Strategic Action programme for the Conservation of Biological diversity (SAP/BIO) in the Mediterranean Region of RAC/SPA, a joint project has been developed to complete the analysis, review the results with the Government authorities, under the responsibility of the RAC/ SPA national focal point, and agree on the final product. For Albania, Montenegro and Croatia, workshops have been held and documents are under approval before printing in the national language and in English. For Bosnia Herzegovina, the process has not been completed due to the unavailability of the different administrations for a workshop and the document is remaining as a draft. SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES BY COUNTRY MOROCCO In Morocco, the main activities were developed with two administrations: the High Commissioner for water, forestry and desertification and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (General Secretary for Fisheries) and with NGOs, in particular AGIR, based in Al Hoceima. In addition to discussion on progress for marine conservation and management, a specific document was prepared on the Morocco legal and institutional country profile for MPAs, using a legal consultant (Larbi Sbaï) from the General Directorate for Fisheries. The draft document could, after revision meeting with the national authorities, include specific recommendations. In collaboration with RAC/SPA and with the support of OCEANA, the realization of a deep sea survey was considered in the Alboran Sea, but was cancelled as the authorisation was not afforded by the national authorities. In collaboration with RAC SPA and the three countries of the Alboran Sea (Morocco, Algeria and Spain), meetings have been held concerning the declaration of SPAMIS or of Marine protected areas as recommended in the document: Towards a representative network of marine protected areas in the Alboran Sea, prepared with the support of MAVA. In collaboration with ACCOBAMS, a meeting has been realised in Morocco on the by-catch of marine mammals and other species. ALGERIA In Algeria, the main activities were developed with the Ministry of Environment. Since 2013, contacts are developed with the Ministry of Fisheries in order to involve another important stakeholder in marine conservation and management. In a meeting with all the relevant administration held (2010) in Algiers and hosted by the Ministry of Environment, the support to the development of a network of marine and coastal protected areas was considered as a priority. Nevertheless, since this date, there was limited positive response for cooperation on specific topics, generally due to the limited capacity of the Ministry. In collaboration with RAC/SPA and the three countries of the Alboran Sea (Morocco, Algeria and Spain), meetings have been held concerning the declaration of SPAMIS or of Marine protected areas as recommended in the document: Towards a representative network of marine protected areas in the Alboran Sea. The representatives of Algeria were unable to participate in the recent meeting held in Malaga or to provide information. In collaboration with ACCOBAMS, a meeting has been realised in Algeria on the by-catch of marine mammals and other species. TUNISIA In Tunisia, the main activities were developed with the RAC/ SPA of the Barcelona Convention, but with limited activity in the country, as the RAC/SPA was already conduction numerous projects. The support was more orientated to the facilitation of the cooperation with neighbouring countries, in particular Libya (organisation of a meeting in Djerba with the representatives of the Environmental General Authority of Libya and Algeria (Joint meeting with the Ministry of Environment in Algiers). Contacts with the National Agency for the Protection of Environment (ANPE), with the Agency for the Protection and Development of the coastal zone (APAL), within the framework of PEGASO and MEDINA projects, has led to the identification of potential activities but not to the proper decision on projects to be developed. A draft of the document on the Tunisia legal and institutional country profile for MPAs has been prepared by a national lawyer (Waheed Ferchichi), then revised and will eb edited and published in the coming weeks. A revision with the national authorities could be planned in the future in order to propose recommendations for improvement of the legal and institutional mechanisms. 14

15 LIBYA In Libya, the main activities were developed with the Environmental General Authority (EGA). Following the preparation and publication in 2011 of the document: Towards a representative network of marine protected areas in Libya, the objective was to assist the country in the declaration and management of new sites, but due to the internal situation, these activities were postponed. A meeting with all the EGA representatives was held in Rabat (October 2011) and other contacts were made during regional events or meetings during the period Due to the difficulty to develop specific projects, a list of possible actions has been discussed and some of them could be developed in the near future. In collaboration with ACCOBAMS, contacts were made with the University of Benghazi to develop a survey of marine mammals in the surrounding waters, but the project never started due to administrative constraints. An early draft of the document on the legal and institutional country profile for MPAs: Libya, was prepared using a consultant, but never finalised due to its unavailability to complete the work done. EGYPT In Egypt, the main activities were developed with representatives of the Nature Conservation Sector of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). In addition contacts have been taken with the National Institute for Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF, Alexandria) within the framework of the MEDINA project and for the development of joint activities on lagoons. The Egypt legal and institutional country profile for MPAs has been prepared by Khaled Allam assisted by Radi Taalat. This report will be improved and a meeting with the governmental authorities will be proposed. During all the period, the collaboration with RAC/SPA has been reinforced for the realisation of surveys and meetings concerning the declaration of Marine protected areas as recommended in the national strategy. The preparation or revision of management plan is still going on, as well as the design of a brochure for Marine Protected Areas of Lebanon (grand public). SYRIA No activity TURKEY Turkey legal and institutional country profile for MPAS has been prepared by Mrs. Baisak Basoglu supervised by Nilufer Oral. This document is still in a draft form and will need to be reviewed. After discussion with Nilufer Oral, a meeting could be organised (2014 or 2015) with the national authorities for a review, endorsement, edition and printing (in English and Turkish), in collaboration with RAC/SPA and other stakeholders working on MPAs in the country, such as UNDP. ALBANIA In addition to the legal and institutional country profile for MPAS (Draft prepared by Faidra Bazigou and revision by the Government with the support of IUCN-Med and IUCN-ELC), the project has supported financially, jointly with RAC/SPA and MedWET, the participation of regional experts to MedBioCoast, first meeting on ICZM and Marine protected areas in Albania (April 2012, 24-28). MONTENEGRO, BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA AND CROATIA The activities were restricted to the preparation of the legal and institutional country profile for MPAS (Draft prepared by Faidra Bazigou and revision by the Government with the support of IUCN-Med and IUCN-ELC), reviewed by national authorities for Montenegro and Croatian during a workshop organised jointly with RAC/SPA. PALESTINE No activity LEBANON In Lebanon, the main activities were developed with the Ministry of Environment, but with involvement of all the relevant national stakeholders. The main support was the secondment of an expert inside the Ministry of Environment for assisting in the development and management of the network of marine protected areas. During the period of support, ending in June 2013, the legal and institutional aspects were also considered. In addition to the report on the potential development of the network of MPAs, a national strategy was prepared. Both products were edited, printed and distributed in one document: Lebanon s Marine Protected Areas Strategy: Supporting the management of important marine habitats and species in Lebanon. SLOVENIA In Slovenia, the same process of review of legal and institutional arrangements for Marine Protected Areas has been started, in order to consider the difference between European (Slovenia) and non-european countries of the Eastern Adriatic. The document is still in early draft and has not been reviewed. 15

16 Outputs of NEREUS project Libya: Towards a representative network of marine protected áreas in Libya. Alboran: Vers un réseau représentatif d aires marines protégées dans la mer d Alboran. Propuesta de una red representativa de áreas marinas protegidas en el mar de Alboran. Lebanon: Lebanon s marine protected areas strategy. Seagrasses (3 documents) pdf_version_ in_french 3_.pdf Summary in Spanish English Summary in French English (link xxx) Monitoring of invasive species in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (published in English, French and Spanish) for the English version. Guide for quick evaluation of management in marine protected areas (published in English, French and Italian). for the English version. Albania final review by the Country and RAC/SPA English and Albanese languages Montenegro final review by the country and RAC SPA English and Montenegrin languages Bosnia Herzegovina draft only, no review expected by the country Croatia final version under review by the country and RAC SPA English and Croatian languages Slovenia draft only, no review Morocco Preliminary assessment French version Algeria Early draft produced, to review and complete, then national meeting proposed Tunisia Draft ready, will need national meeting Libya Early draft, to be completed with national review Egypt Preliminary assessment completed English version North Africa Marine Conservation Sites Review in collaboration with MedPAN Fisheries Restricted Areas (GFCM-FAO) inside territorial waters could be declared as MPAs. Under finalisation before printing, presented to GFCM meeting in February 2014 and recommendation by the Scientific Advisory Committee to be proposed to the next GFCM meeting ACCOBAMS Report on by catch issues in different countries 16

17 Towards a Representative Network of Marine Protected Areas in Libya Conservación y desarrollo sostenible del mar de Alborán Lebanon s Marine Protected Areas Strategy Conservation et développement durable de la mer d Alboran Supporting the management of important marine habitats and species in Lebanon Les herbiers de Magnoliophytes marines de Méditerranée Mediterranean Seagrass Meadows: Resilience and Contribution to Climate Change Mitigation Las praderas de Magnoliofitas marinas del mar Mediterráneo: resiliencia y contribución a la mitigación del cambio climático A Short Summary Resumen Résilience et contribution à l atténuation des changements climatiques Les herbiers de Magnoliophytes marines de Méditerranée : résilience et contribution à l atténuation des changements climatiques Mediterranean Seagrass Meadows: Resilience and Contribution to Climate Change Mitigation Résumé A Short Summary UNIÓN INTERNACIONAL PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN DE LA NATURALEZA IUCN-MED Parque Tecnológico de Andalucia Marie Curie, Campanillas (Malaga) uicnmed@iucn.org Tel Fax COLLECTION Las actividades del Centro de Cooperación del Mediterráneo están financiadas principalmente por: Monitoring Marine Invasive Species in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) A strategy and practical guide for managers Funded by: C A R / A S P R A C / S P A C A R / A S P Partneritetit Strategjik për Ekosistemin e Madh të Detit Mesdhe C A R / A S P The Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (MedPartnership) MedMPAnet Projekti Rajonal për Zhvillimin e Rrjetit Mesdhetar të Zonave të Mbrojtura Detare dhe Bregdetare nëpërmjet nxitjes së Krijimit dhe Menaxhimit të ZMD-ve R A C / S P A Project SHQIPËRIA DHE ZONAT E MBROJTURA DETARE Vlerësimi i kuadrit ligjor dhe institucional për ruajtjen e biodiversitetit bregdetar dhe detar dhe krijimin e ZMD-ve C A R / A S P The Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (MedPartnership) MedMPAnet Regional Project for the Development of a Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MPAs) Network through the Boosting of MPAs Creation and Management R A C / S P A Project The Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (MedPartnership) MedMPAnet Regional Project for the Development of a Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MPAs) Network through the Boosting of MPAs Creation and Management R A C / S P A Project MedMPAnet Regional Project for the Development of a Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MPAs) Network through the Boosting of MPAs Creation and Management Project MONTENEGRO AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS Legal and Institutional framework assessment for conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity and the establishment of MPAs CROATIA AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS Legal and Institutional framework assessment for conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity and the establishment of MPAs CROATIA AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS (DRAFT) Legal and Institutional framework assessment for conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity and the establishment of MPAs Legal and Institutional framework profile for MPAs in Morocco Legal and Institutional framework profile for MPAs in Algeria Legal and Institutional framework profile for MPAs in Tunisia Legal and Institutional framework profile for MPAs in Libya (Draft) (Draft) (Draft) (Draft) North Africa Marine Conservation Sites Review (Draft) Atelier méditerranéen d échange d expérience MedPAN 2013 Surveillance et réglementation dans les AMP: comment optimiser l efficacité et la durabilité des actions novembre 2013 Hyères, France 17