Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are slices of sea and coast placed under protection and managed because of their ecological importance. Through effective management, they protect the amazing marine life of the Mediterranean, ensuring the livelihoods of fishermen, stimulating the local economy and offering tourists the opportunity to rekindle their links with nature (MedPAN, 2023). The system of Mediterranean MPAs in 2020 Every four years, MedPAN (Network of Marine Protected Areas managers in the Mediterranean) and SPA/RAC (The Regional Activity Centre for
MAVA was born of the passion, vision and adventure of Luc Hoffmann. Created in 1994 to’promote the protection of nature’ and support the conservation of iconic sites: the Camargue in France, the Bijagos archipelago in Guinea-Bissau, Doñana in Spain, the Prespa Lakes in Greece, Northern Macedonia and Albania and the Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania. Sometimes neglected by mainstream conservation, they all have exceptional natural value. Click here to learn more about these exceptional sites and some of the extraordinary
The coastal region of Guinea-Bissau is long and forested, bordered by mangrove swamps with estuaries extending far inland, while the hinterland of the country features plains and hills with savannah areas further east. According to Guinea-Bissau’s National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA), the primary drivers of the climate vulnerability of the coastal areas and communities are physical exposure, dependence on agriculture and fishing as main livelihood options, and poor governance. Low-elevation coastal zones stand out as one of Guinea-Bissau’s indicators of
In February of 2020, Liberia formally began this journey towards developing national System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA). The Liberia Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in partnership with other governmental agencies, and support from Conservation International, started implementation of the GEF-funded project Conservation and Sustainable Use of Liberia’s Coastal Natural Capital (the GEF NCA Liberia Project). The key objective of this five-year project is to improve conservation and sustainable use of Liberia’s coastal natural capital by mainstreaming the value of nature
The field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been developed over the last five decades. On the most basic level, GIS is a spatial system that creates, manages, analyzes, and maps all types of data. Among the functionalities of GIS, we can also find data storage. GIS connects data to a map, integrating location data (where things are) with all types of descriptive information (what things are like there). This provides a foundation for mapping and analysis that is used
Biodiversity supports everything in nature that we need to survive, including food to clean water. From the plants, animals, insects, fungi to bacteria, biodiversity creates the intricate ecosystems we rely on. Renowned economist Sir Partha Dasgupta believes governments must integrate ecosystem services into calculations of economic health to reduce resource exploitation and promote a healthy relationship between humanity and nature. This argument for “inclusive wealth” forms the basis of Dasgupta’s Economics of Biodiversity, a landmark report that is
The project Life SEPOSSO (LIFE16 GIE/IT/000761), “Supporting Environmental governance for the POSidonia oceanica Sustainable transplanting Operations”, coordinated by ISPRA, and carried out with the contribution of the European Commission, aims to improve the Italian Governance of the Posidonia oceanic transplants, marine habitat priority 1120* sensu Habitat Directive (1992/43/EEC), implemented to compensate the damages caused by coastal works and infrastructures. The project is based on the cooperation between numerous stakeholders which realize and apply good practices and innovative software tools, that
What is Natura 2000? Natura 2000 is the key instrument to protect biodiversity in the European Union. It is an ecological network of protected areas, set up to ensure the survival of Europe’s most valuable species and habitats. Natura 2000 is based on the 1979 Birds Directive and the 1992 Habitats Directive. The Natura 2000 network currently encompasses over 27,300 individual sites, altogether covering an area of more than 1.1 million square kilometres (EEA, 2022). This corresponds to 18% of the
The tiny island of Maio – part of the Cape Verde archipelago, 750 miles off the west coast of Africa – is world renowned for the rich marine life of its Atlantic waters. It is the third most important nesting site for loggerhead turtles in the world, and is increasingly recognised as an important breeding area for a number of shark species. The island has a huge potential for tourism and has made a serious commitment to tourism, building several tourist facilities.
Since the begin of 2020, the world is going through a multi-dimensional crisis due to the covid-19 pandemic: aside from an already acute environmental crisis, we are confronted with a health crisis with important human costs and considerable effects on the economy and the societies. There is now an extraordinary opportunity to contribute or even to influence this collective effort by governments, funders, civil society, local communities and corporate actors aimed at “readjusting the target”, towards sustainable approaches to the