Photo: IUCN-Med
Background
Small scale fisheries and environmental conservation have a long history in the Mediterranean basin, with many common features but also numerous conflicts on the use and management of the marine resources. The FishMPABlue PHASE 2 proposal is the follow up of FishMPABlue 1 project which developed a regional-based toolkit for small scale fisheries governance in and around Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). In this second phase, the project will test the toolkit with a bottom-up approach in order to explore its actual application in different MPAs settings and involvement process with stakeholders.
Main objective
FISH-MPA PHASE 2 aims at providing results and specific guidance for the management of artisanal fisheries in MPAs through testing the process of a governance toolkit, bringing capacity building for stakeholders (MPAs managers and local fishermen groups) and supporting policy recommendations in order to set up fishery management models. These models will allow MPAs management bodies to preserve marine ecosystems and species, assuring sustainable exploration of marine resources, and therefore assuring the sustainability of small scale fisheries in and around Mediterranean marine protected areas.
Expected results
- To maintain biodiversity and natural ecosystems through strengthening the management and networking of Protected Areas;
- To test the “governance toolkit” for small scale fisheries” in different typologies of MPAs in order to have an upgraded version of it. This testing will be carried out in 11 MPAs assisting them to improve their conservation-related effectiveness and their capacity in managing one of the main human-based pressures for Mediterranean MPAs;
- To disseminate the experiences on the toolkit among the maximum feasible number of Mediterranean MPAs;
- To enhance integration of principles and recommendations in national and international policies to ease informal/formal engagement of stakeholders in small scale fishery management within MPAs.
IUCN-Med’s role
IUCN-Med will work in the different phases of the project with the partners, on the transferability plan of Pilot Action results, bringing a common methodology for design and execution of monitoring, capacity building, testing incentives for the artisanal fishery sector and the inclusion of new governance approaches associating conservation and sustainable fisheries approaches (at both national and international levels to bring recommendations, in particular to regional instruments such as the Barcelona Convention, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GCFM-FAO) or MedWET).
The MPAs involved are the following:
- Marine reserve of Es Freus, Spain (coordination WWF Mediterranean)
- Cabo de Palos Marine Reserve, Spain (coordination WWF Mediterranean)
- Fisheries reserve of Cap Roux, France (coordination UNS)
- Côte Bleue Marine Park, France (coordination MedPAN)
- Bonifacio natural reserve, France (coordination MedPAN)
- Torre Guaceto MPA, Italy (coordination Federparchi / Conisma)
- Egadi islands MPA, Italy (coordination Federparchi / Conisma)
- Portofino MPA, Italy (coordination Federparchi / Conisma)
- Telascica natural park, Croatia (coordination WWF Adria)
- Strunjan Landscape park, Slovenia (coordination WWF Adria)
- Marine natinal park of Zakynthos, Greece (coordination UNS)
During the first phase of the project, testing will be carried out by engaging MPAs management bodies and local small scale fishermen, through the establishment of a "Local Governance Cluster - LGC", in the selection of the set of governance tools to be implemented in each Pilot MPA.
Partnership
This project is led by The Italian Federation of Parks and Natures Reserves (Federparchi) and involves partners such as the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN-Med), the Mediterranean Protected Areas network (MedPAN), the National Inter-University Consortium for Marine Sciences (CoNISMa), University Nice Sophia Antipolis, WWF MedPO, and the Association of Var for a small coast fishing and sustainable maritime activities (founders of MedArtNet, the Mediterranean platform of artisanal fisheries).
As Associated Partners of the project are General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean of the FAO, the Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection in Croatia, the Mediterranean Wetlands Initiative (MedWET), the French MPA Agency (AAMP), the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA), Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery, Food and Environment.
Budget
2.5 million whole project.
Duration
EU Med programme structural funds (85%) and MAVA foundation (15%)
