The project titled “Towards achieving the Good Environmental Status of the Mediterranean Sea and coast through an ecologically representative and efficiently managed and monitored network of Marine Protected Areas” (IMAP-MPA project) held its second Steering Committee meeting online on 24 March 2021.
Endowed with a budget of 4 million euros for a duration of 42 months, the project is executed by the Mediterranean Action Plan of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) and funded by the European Union. The objective is two-fold: to strengthen national capabilities in the implementation of the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme and related assessment criteria for the Mediterranean Sea and Coast (IMAP) and to enhance the management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Mediterranean.
The Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (SPA/RAC), which ensures the project’s implementation under the overall supervision of the Athens-based UNEP/MAP Coordinating Unit, hosted the Steering Committee meeting that saw the participation of representatives of Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, the European Commission and EU Delegations in beneficiary countries, as well as the UfM Secretariat and several observers.
As they reviewed progress since the first Steering Committee meeting last year, participants discussed the important support that the project is providing to national teams in the set-up and activation of integrated monitoring plans under IMAP, which is based on the definition of Good Environmental Status, encompassing 11 Ecological Objectives and related targets covering pollution and marine litter, biodiversity, non-indigenous species, coastal ecosystems, and hydrography.
National IMAP Committees supported by the project coordinate the execution of all IMAP-related activities, including the approval and operationalization of the national IMAP-based monitoring programmes. The Steering Committee heard that national IMAP Committees were convened in five countries (Israel - 30 July 2020; Tunisia - 7 October 2020; Libya - 28 October 2020; Morocco - 25 February 2021; Algeria - 2 March 2021), and that the IMAP Committees of Egypt and Lebanon will follow suit in the course of 2021. The next step will be to set up operational national pilots for the integrated implementation of IMAP in the eight beneficiary countries.
IMAP-MPA also aims to enhance MPA management performance in the Mediterranean as only 10 per cent of Mediterranean MPAs are duly implementing management plans. When effectively managed, MPAs contribute to the recovery of declining species, habitats and biological communities. As Nature-Based Solutions, marine protected areas can protect endangered seagrass meadows and saltmarshes which are crucial to the health of the Mediterranean Sea and coast.
The Steering Committee heard that progress has been made in the field despite hurdles related to the COVID-19 pandemic: Egypt devised its national MPA Network Strategy for the Coast, Lebanon developed a management plan for the Tyre Coast Nature Reserve while Rachgoun Island in Algeria and the Gulf of Sirte marine area in Libya conducted studies with recommendations on how to ensure socio-economic sustainability. In addition, progress was reported on preparations for the 2020 MPA Forum, an event where the IMAP-MPA project will support several activities aiming to facilitate peer-learning and networking among MPAs.
The Steering Committee notably appreciated efforts made by UNEP/MAP to foster synergies with the EcAp MED III and Marine Litter MED II projects. “This cluster of EU-funded projects is making inroads into hurdles impending the full implementation of the Ecosystem Approach at the Mediterranean basin level,” Ms. Tatjana Hema, UNEP/MAP Deputy Coordinator, recently observed.
The Steering Committee meeting also approved the IMAP-MPA project’s annual workplan and budget.
The project is expected to feature in a side-event on the sidelines of the 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties (COP 22) to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols to be held in December 2021 in Antalya, Turkey.
