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MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
Roadmap for a better

protected Mediterranean

Following the 3 Forum on Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas, which
rd
was held in Monaco at the end of 2021, the roadmap established for the
1,087 marine protected areas in the Mediterranean region marks a further

step towards greater efficiency.

Monaco Ocean Week provided the opportunity to
bring together the main players involved in the pro-
tection of Mediterranean marine ecosystems, the IN
Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas
(RAC/SPA) of the Barcelona Convention, the network FIGURES
of Mediterranean MPA mangers (MedPAN), the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Prince Albert II of Mo-
naco Foundation which initiated the event, as well as
their partners and the participants of Monaco Ocean ■ In 2020, 1,087 MPAs covered 8.33% of the
Week, in order to define the content of the roadmap Mediterranean, 2/3 of which in the Western
for marine protected areas in the Mediterranean dis- Mediterranean (2 times greater than in 2014),
cussed in November 2021. The session on 22 March ■ 275 MPAs have national designations, which only
2022, held at the Monaco Yacht Club, focused on represents 3.18% of the Mediterranean,
the priorities identified, as well as the recommenda-
tions and common solutions to protect a sea under ■ strictly protected areas (no access, no sampling,
pressure yet still inadequately regulated. Only 8.3% of no fishing) represent 0.04% of the Mediterranean.
the Mediterranean is covered by MPAs, yet the target
currently being discussed at international level is 30%
of MPAs and other effective area-based conservation
measures (OECM) by 2030. How can this level of ef-
fective protection be reached, strongly encouraged KEYFACT
by the international context in one of the most sensi-
st
st
tive areas in the world in terms of marine biodiversity? ■ 2012: 1 MPA Forum and 1 roadmap drawn up in Antalya
How can we ensure that Mediterranean MPAs are ef- (Turkey),
ficient, and no longer merely “paper areas”?
■ 2016: 2 MPA Forum in Tangiers (Morocco) / assessment
nd
and update of the roadmap for 2020,
■ 2020-2021: 3 MPA Forum in Monaco / finalising of a
rd
new roadmap for the post-2020 period, in line with the
Convention for Biological Diversity’s global framework.