ERA and IUCN discuss the Future of Marine Protected Areas with the European Commission and other stakeholders
ERA, in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) European Regional Office, organised a workshop, which brought together the European Commission, representatives of European Member States, and other foreign and national organisations, marine specialists and stakeholders, to discuss the protection of European seas and oceans and to share first hand experiences of the opportunities and challenges of protecting Europe’s marine environment. It was clear that amongst the main aspects to feature in future discussions related to the marine environment are invasive alien species, stakeholder involvement, fisheries and financing.
During the workshop entitled “Marine Protected Areas: Initiatives and Opportunities” the successes and challenges of managing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) were explored, through European examples from Malta, Sweden, Spain and EU Overseas Countries and Territories and Outermost Regions.
The need to move beyond the designation of MPAs, which although important is only the first step towards protecting Europe’s seas, was discussed, and the need for adequate management so as to sustainably protect our seas was emphasised. Pollution and invasive alien species were highlighted amongst important issues negatively affecting the state of the marine environment; such issues, and others, need to be addressed in order to improve conservation status of habitats and species, and the state of the marine environment overall.
Enhancing MPA management centred around the importance of including and involving all stakeholders in marine protection and management, was also debated. The future of Europe’s seas concerns all actors, particularly local and small-scale fishers, who have a role to play to ensure the successful conservation of Europe’s seas and oceans.
“Protecting our oceans is the business of all of us. Local, national, regional and global coordinated efforts of all actors are needed: working together is a must,” said Luc Bas, Director, IUCN European Regional Office.
The results from this meeting aim to feed into upcoming discussions surrounding the topic of marine protection, including Our Ocean Conference to be held in Malta in October 2017.
It is pertinent to note that efforts to protect the marine environment around Malta are currently being made in line with the requirements of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 (under the United Nations Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020) and Resolution 50 from the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016. As also explained at the opening of the workshop by Prof. Victor Axiak, ERA Chairman, Malta has committed a major increase in the cover of marine protected areas in 2016 – with an additional 3,450 km2 chosen to form part of the European Union’s Natura 2000 network. Their selection was based on the results of two EU LIFE+ projects – LIFE+ MIGRATE focusing on dolphins and turtles, and LIFE+ Malta Seabirds Project focusing on seabirds.
Together with another 5 marine sites that had been previously designated (based primarily on the presence of Posidonia beds), marine designated sites now cover 30% of Maltese waters – equivalent to 11 times the size of the Maltese Islands. Further to this, an ongoing project, LIFE BaĦAR for N2K, addresses selected marine habitats, aimed at extending or identifying new marine Natura 2000 sites. Furthermore, public consultations have taken place in relation to the setting up of the programme of measures related to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and in relation to the management of marine protected areas. The latter is being complemented with meetings with relevant stakeholders, with the aim to discuss the setting of relevant management measures for the designated MPAs.
For further information, please contact us on:
T: + 356 2292 3500
