In the continuity of the 2012 Mediterranean MPA Forum (Antalya, Turkey), MedPAN, SPA/RAC, the Haut Commissariat aux Eaux et Forêts et à la Lutte Contre la Désertification and several partners organised the second edition of the Mediterranean MPA Forum from 28 November to 1 December in Tangier, Morocco. Over three hundred participants joined this event.
The high point of this Forum process is a 4-day event to assess the progress made and what’s left ahead according to the MPA Roadmap developed at the 2012 Forum and now adopted by the Barcelona Convention. What should still be done to conserve, by 2020, at least 10% of the Mediterranean Sea through effectively managed MPAs and other area-based conservation measures? How to address MPA issues with a long-term and integrated vision?
Download
Spotlight on the 2016 MPA Status
In addition, the Forum was also the opportunity to share the main results of the 2016 Status of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean conducted by MedPAN and SPA/RAC.
The aim of this brochure is to present a highlight of the 2016 assessment of where we stand with Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in the Mediterranean, what progress has been made since the 2012 assessment and especially what is left to do to reach international marine conservation objectives by 2020.
The Tangier declaration and the 2016 updated Roadmap
The Roadmap elaboration process was conducted using a step by step approach. Ahead of the 2012 Forum of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean that took place in Antalya, Turkey, in 2012, input was sought from the Forum Steering Committee, members and partners of the MedPAN network, the main European Mediterranean and international institutions, the Ministries in charge of MPAs (SPA/RAC focal points in particular) and all the participants of the Forum (scientists, managers, fishermen representatives, NGOs, donors ….).
The roadmap was in a second phase enriched with the results of all discussions and exchanges that took place at the Forum. It was approved by all the participants during the last day of the 2012 Forum.
The Roadmap was revised in 2016, taking into account the midterm evaluation process of the MPA Roadmap implementation carried out in 2016, and the recommendations issued from the 2016 MPA Forum held in Tangier, Morocco, with key operational and action-oriented steps inspired from the Tangier Declaration of the 2016 Forum, complementary to the Antalya Declaration of 2012, to improve and help achieving the MPA Roadmap objectives by 2020.
A fifth strategic objective related to climate change has been added to the Roadmap; the institutional framework has been also updated. The Roadmap is not today a document committing countries formally but it makes it possible to define the steps that Mediterranean countries, relevant organisations and other stakeholders could individually and/or jointly undertake to achieve the 2020 objectives set for the MPA network in the Mediterranean.
The 2016 Photos and Videos
