Page 66 - Livre_MOW2021_EN

64 | TRANSITION AND SOLUTIONS

PROJECTS SUPPORTED BY THE MONK SEAL ALLIANCE

Support for

the Mediterranean

monk seal

© Cem Orkun Kirac - SAD AFAG

■ Alleviating the impact of tourism in the ■ Identifying and addressing illegal visits to
inner Ionian Sea islands, an important ha- caves inhabited by seals in the Turkish
bitat for the species. Thanks to science- provinces of Muglia and Antalya.
based management, they could become a
key protection area for the monk seal The participatory project by the Underwa-
ter Research Society and the Mediterranean
The Tethys Research Institute’s programme Monk Seal Research Group includes cleaning
includes the installation of an online sur- ten coastal caves, regulations linked to coas-
veillance system for the area and a code of tal development, tourism and fishing, and es-
conduct for site visitors. tablishing a no fishing zone.

■ Identifying and protecting the rocky coasts ■ Protecting the Mediterranean monk seal in
of Ras Nouadhibou in Mauritania, which is the eastern Mediterranean: experts from
home to the world’s largest Mediterranean five countries in the region pool their data
monk seal colony (350 individuals, nearly to track changes to the population and
half of the world’s population along 1 km tackle one of the main identified threats
of coastline). (fishing) with targeted actions.
The CBD-Habitat Foundation’s project in- The IUCN’s international, collaborative project
cludes surveillance of the seal marine and in the Mediterranean also includes operations
land reserve, continuous tracking of the popu- to clean caves, advocacy actions and conso-
lation, advocacy and development of colony lidating the capacities of stakeholders at re-
translocation methods. gional level, particularly to define population
dynamics.
© Cem Orkun Kirac - SAD AFAG