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SOLUTIONS FOR THE OCEAN / NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS | 47

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KEYFACT The Pelagos Sanctuary is a maritime area covering 87,500 km pursuant to an agreement signed in 1999 between Italy,
Monaco and France to protect the marine mammals found there. The Sanctuary is classified as a Specially Protected
Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI).

THE PELAGOS cetaceans) and sequester carbon to depths of
SANCTUARY, AN up to 2,000 metres. However, the scientist war-
ns that “with climate change, water circulation
ECOSYSTEM UNIQUE in the Mediterranean may be adversely affected,
which will modify marine organic production”.
IN THE WORLD

Moderated by Costanza Favilli, Executive Secre- CETACEANS UNDER
tary of the Pelagos Agreement, the first panel fo- PRESSURE
cused on the bioecological characteristics of the
Pelagos marine sanctuary and the impact of an- The Pelagos Sanctuary is one of the largest fee-
thropogenic activities on this preserved area of ding habitats for the Mediterranean fin whale po-
the Mediterranean region. “Although some types pulation. Consisting of 2,500 mature individuals,
of damage (pollution, overfishing) are reversible, in a steady decline, the fin whale has moved
others aren’t (land urbanisation)” pointed out from “vulnerable” to “endangered” species on
marine ecologist Paolo Guidetti from the Genoa the IUCN list. As Sabina Airoldi, Project Director
Marine Centre before recommending making at the Tethys Research Institute in Milan, points
a portfolio of Nature-based Solutions available out, “in this extremely dense shipping area, one
(green infrastructure, restored and/or protected of the biggest threats weighing on this species is
ecosystems by means of effective and equitable vessel collision”. A hazard which also concerns
MPAs, use of biotechnology) adapted to the sperm whales in the area, increasingly spotted
types of ecosystems found in the Sanctuary. in family groups: “Females and juveniles remain
on the surface longer than solitary males, which
increases the risk of collision”. Sound and che-
OCEAN CURRENTS mical pollution, together with driftnets add to the
CONDUCIVE TO MARINE LIFE threats which hang over the 8 species of ceta-
ceans observed on a regular basis.
Marine biologist Lars Stemmann, Professor at
the Laboratory of Oceanography in Villefranche
sur Mer, presented Mediterranean coastal circu- DEFINING STRATEGIES
lation patterns: “Atlantic waters, with low salinity,
enter via the Gibraltar Strait then divide into two What strategy should be developed to secure
branches: Northwest and East. This circulation is the Sanctuary and limit the impact of human
complemented by deep vertical currents which activities? Federico Niccolini, a researcher in
distribute the bodies of water from east to west.” political science at the University of Pisa, looked
“Unique in the seas of the globe”, it has a nerve into the possibility of educational programmes
centre: the Pelagos Sanctuary. That is why the and eco-volunteers to strengthen links between
latter hosts a concentration of various nutrients, nature and society: “With few resources, you
especially in the Spring when phytoplankton can bring about substantial economic and social
blooms occur. These microorganisms withstand change in order to conserve natural spaces”.
a greater diversity of species and a wide biomass
of marine fauna and flora (from zooplankton to
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