Post-2020 regional strategy for marine and coastal protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures in the Mediterranean: MCPA & OECM strategy

Le financement octroyé par The MedFund à l’APAL (Agence de Protection et d’Aménagement du Littoral) et à l’ONG Notre Grand Bleu vise notamment à améliorer la surveillance de l’aire protégée afin de prévenir les infractions et sensibiliser les usagers et les opérateurs touristiques sur les bonnes pratiques à tenir dans cet espace fragile. Situées à 18 km au large de la ville de Monastir, les îles Kuriat constituent, entre autres, le principal site de ponte en Tunisie de la tortue caouanne, une espèce menacée en Méditerranée.

In December 2019, the Conference of Parties to the Barcelona Convention (COP 21) requested the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) Secretariat, through the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC), to elaborate a post-2020 strategic document to further advance and strengthen the network of marine and coastal protected areas (MCPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) in the Mediterranean. It was further recognized that to achieve comprehensive and coherent systems of well-managed MCPAs/OECMs, the strategy should be ambitious, transformational, and in line with the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other regional and global processes. Central to the transformative approach will be the incorporation and integration of recognized OECMs in the region to help achieve the ambitious Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework relevant targets.

Through a series of consultations and workshops, this Post-2020 Strategy for MCPAs and OECMs in the Mediterranean was developed under the leadership of the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre, (SPA/RAC) the guidance of its Ad hoc Group of Experts for Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean (AGEM), and in consultation with Contracting Parties Focal Points and Regional and International Organizations active in the Mediterranean. The strategy is aligned with a number of international, regional and sub-regional relevant strategies and ongoing programmes.