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14 | OCEAN GOVERNANCE

CROSS-BORDER DYNAMICS
The Pelagos Initiative

holds its first forum

The stakeholders of the Pelagos Sanctuary have come together for the first

time to strengthen conservation efforts in the largest marine protected
area in the Mediterranean.

Which strategies should be adopted to significant-
ly strengthen the protection of the Mediterranean
sanctuary and its marine mammals? Could the
protected area, which covers three neighbouring PROFILE
countries, lead by example in terms of conservation?
These issues are particularly relevant in the context The Pelagos Sanctuary was created in 1999 to protect
of the climate upheavals affecting the Mediterranean cetaceans in a vulnerable, high-traffic area, and is the subject
basin, which is already subject to numerous environ- of an international agreement signed by France, Italy, and the
mental pressures. During the sixth Monaco Ocean Principality of Monaco. The Pelagos Agreement came into force
Week, these concerns were the central focus of the in 2002, the year in which the Sanctuary was included in the
first "Pelagos Forum" organised by the Pelagos Ini- list of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance
tiative. On 21 March 2023, more than 80 local re- (SPAMIs) recognised by the Barcelona Convention. The
presentatives, managers of marine protected areas Agreement aims to improve the conservation of cetaceans, by
(MPAs), municipalities, civil society and the private guaranteeing a periodic assessment of the status of the species
sector, scientific bodies and representatives of in- and their habitats, and by agreeing on tripartite management
ternational agreements gathered at the Monte-Car- of human activities that exert pressure on the area.
lo Bay Hotel to discuss and develop joint projects In 2021, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, WWF, IUCN
within the sanctuary, which contributes to increasing and MedPAN decided to coordinate their efforts by creating
the level of protection in the Mediterranean, as Oli- the Pelagos Initiative with the aim of funding activities that
vier Wenden, Vice-President and CEO of the Prince protect, conserve, and promote the sanctuary, in support of the
Albert II of Monaco Foundation, voiced in his opening implementation of the Pelagos Agreement Management Plan.
statement: "The Mediterranean has less than 9% of
protected areas, of which the Pelagos Sanctuary
accounts for more than a third. The stakes are high,
and we are here today to address this challenge and
explore avenues that could lead to collaborative pro-
jects to conserve this area."