The MedPartnership at the MedMPA Forum 2012 in Turkey
More than 300 key players are currently meeting in Turkey for the first time to develop a joint work program to improve the protection of the Mediterranean Sea during the 2012 Forum of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean on 25-28 November 2012 in Antalya, Turkey. The Forum is a joint initiative of the Network of Marine Protected Areas Managers in the Mediterranean (MedPAN) and its partners, including RAC/SPA and WWF Mediterranean, within the framework of the MedPartnership.
The Mediterranean is one of the richest regions in the world in terms of marine biodiversity and natural resources, but also one of the most vulnerable. Since 2008, approximately 7,000 km2 have been added to the area already under protection. But with only a little over 4% of the Mediterranean Sea under protection, there is still much to be done to ensure that Mediterranean marine biodiversity "hot-spots" are protected and to reach Target 11 of the Aichi Strategic Plan for Biodiversity of “10% of coastal and marine areas… conserved through effectively and equitably managed...protected areas” . The forum will develop a common vision and set a new strategic roadmap to achieve the goals set forth in the Barcelona Convention, to establish by 2020 a comprehensive, effectively-managed and ecologically representative network of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean.
During the MPA Forum participants will exchange experiences and knowledge, participate in a constructive dialogue, identify the needs of actors and their constraints to reinforce MPAs’ ecological representativeness and MPA management efficiency. Participants come from a variety of backgrounds, including leaders of governments, MPA managers, non-governmental organizations, scientists, socio-economic stakeholders, Regional, European and International partners.
The Forum will present the MPAs current situation, share the results of the analysis on the Status of MPAs in the Mediterranean and underline new challenges for MPAs.
RAC/SPA is actively participating in the organization and good running of the Forum and will be organizing and facilitating the following sessions:
- Workshop on "Creation of marine and coastal protected areas networks: What has changed over the last 5 years?"
- Focus session on "Identification and creation of new MPAs in the Mediterranean: Lessons learned and challenges"
- Focus session on "Challenges for Open Seas MPAs"
The workshop will provide food for though for the creation of marine and coastal protected areas networks and concrete recommendations to the Roadmap.
The focus sessions will present the main results of the projects executed by RAC/SPA concerning Identification and creation of new MPAs in the Mediterranean coastal and open seas waters.
WWF Mediterranean will organize the following:
- Workshop on "Incorporating Marine Spatial Planning into MPA management in the Mediterranean"
- Focus Session on "Making Marine Protected Areas work: Lessons Learned in the Mediterranean"
The workshop will engage MPA practitioners into a) understanding the value and need for a Marine Spatial Planning approach, b) the implications for MPAs of the implementation of a Marine Spatial Planning approach at the national level, c) how MPAs can be pivotal and a key stakeholder in the development of Marine Spatial Plans and d) the dynamics of developing a Marine Spatial Plan, including conflict management, risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, etc.
The focus session will present the approaches applied by the WWF’s MedPAN South project to make MPAs operational through participatory planning and decision-making. Through the experience of MPA practitioners from around the region, lessons learned will be presented to showcase solutions to some of the main challenges affecting MPAs in the Mediterranean.
