Supporting the implementation of public-private partnerships (PPP) for the management of Mediterranean protected areas

Encouraging stakeholders at mobilizing private sector financial and technical capacities through PPP to sustainably fund protected areas and develop a participative management approach involving civil society.

PPP, a virtuous potential tool for the management of protected areas

In a context of increased pressure on natural resources and dependency on limited public budgets, most of Mediterranean protected areas suffer from a lack of funds, technical and human capacities to ensure an adequate level of protection. This context calls for the development of a sustainable global and integrated model for the management of protected areas adapted to the new political, socioeconomic and environmental stakes of the Mediterranean. In that respect, PPP can contribute to make protected areas financially viable by exploiting economic value potential on the site and to engage local population in a dynamic for conservation and socioeconomic development.

Goals of the project “PPP in the Mediterranean protected areas”

• Supporting long term partnership between public authorities, private sector operators (for instance in the tourism, forestry, or energy industry) and local population for biodiversity and protected areas conservation and poverty reduction in and around protected areas.
• Developing income and job-generating activities, which are environmentally sustainable, guarantee incentive earnings for private operators involved in the PPP and increase income of the local population while respecting conservation objectives.
• Promoting local conservation funding strategies and measures to reduce anthropic pressures on protected areas while guarantying users that goods and services will be upheld on the long term.
• Disseminating participatory approaches for the sustainable management of protected areas in conservation public policy at national and regional levels.

This project focuses on Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries, where funding and capacities are less abundant than in the North.

A project led in partnership with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD)

The project started in 2016 and is established under an agreement between AFD and Plan Bleu. Through its support to this partnership, AFD aims at finding innovative solutions to support sustainable development goals in its operations in the Mediterranean area.

A 4 steps project

1. Inventory of existing legislations and regulations frameworks.
2. Identification of partnerships and potential pilot sites.
3. Implementation of the proposed approaches on pilot sites.
4. Capitalization effort at regional level through an exchange between Mediterranean countries and institutions

The first step has led to the publication of a study on the legal framework of seven countries – Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Türkiye – to determine which have the legal capacity to resort to PPP in their protected areas. This study is available on Plan Bleu’s website, as a technical report (in French).

The project continues with the identification of potential pilot sites and partnerships in three countries: Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.