MED Biodiversity Protection Community - Mainstreaming biodiversity management efforts for environmental sustainability

The Med Biodiversity Protection Community/MBPC (“PANACeA2”) is a horizontal project focusing on objective 3.2. “maintaining biodiversity and natural ecosystems through strengthening the management and networking of protected areas”. MBPC project has been featured by PANACeA project, one of six Horizontal Projects approved from the first call of the Interreg Med programming period 2014-2020.

It builds on achievements to increase the impact of 3.2 modular projects’ towards common identified targets and links through:

• the synthesis and transfer of the results of efforts to protect ecosystems,
• Engaging a stakeholders’ community & transferring knowledge beyond the community and the project´s lifetime,
• Enhancing the communication & dissemination strategy,
• Developing the long-term capitalization tool ensuring evidence-based policy enforcement.

Coordinated by the European Thematic Center of the University of Malaga, Plan Bleu is a partner in this project and in charge of:

• Developing a strategy and action plan for capitalisation activities;
• Systematizing knowledge Capitalisation & mainstreaming events;
• Liaising tools and recommendations for transformative changes;
• Mainstreaming the efforts of the Adriatic-Inonian region in improving the status of biodiversity

A Community articulated around three cross-cutting issues:

1. Addressing biodiversity protection challenges in Protected Areas, with a focus on climate change and marine litter.
2. Sustainable use of resources, with a focus on governance model for Posidonia meadow management and on protected areas and cumulative impacts.
3. Ecosystem approach and integrated ecosystem monitoring.

How do we work?

The Interreg community for the protection of Mediterranean biodiversity is structured around three main themes and working groups with the support of MBPC partners, as shown below. To get involved in the activities, do not hesitate to contact the partner leading the group or contact [email protected] :

Working Group 1: Biodiversity Protection and Transboundary Challenges: Led by ETC-UMA and MedCities, please contact [email protected]

Working group 2: Sustainable use of natural resources: Led by the CPMR, please contact [email protected]

Working group 3: Integrated ecosystem monitoring and management: Led by Plan Bleu, please contact [email protected]

This was the first virtual workshop entitled “Revamping the Mediterranean Community”, the first of a series organized by the Mediterranean Community for the Protection of Biodiversity. This exclusive webinar took place on June 12, 2020 from 10 a.m. CET with the active engagement of partners and associated partners in the Mediterranean Community project for the protection of biodiversity and an incredible audience of lead partners and communication officers in our 15 thematic projects.

Revamping the Mediterranean Community is available here.

During this community-building webinar, more than 50 participants validated the analysis presented on the Community available here, its common priority objectives for integration and the joint work plan to better meet biodiversity challenges together. We were very pleased to see the interest and support to continue working on joint actions through three working groups, which were the subject of a series of subsequent webinars, namely:

• Working Group 1 on Biodiversity Protection and Transboundary Challenges which met on 26 June to address transboundary pressures such as pollution, marine litter and climate change as well as transboundary governance, network connectivity Ecological and Ecologically Significant Areas (EBSAs); VIDEO Working group 1

• Working Group 2 on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources which met on July 3, VIDEO Working Group 2

• Working group on integrated ecosystem monitoring and management which defined its common roadmap on 1 July. VIDEO Working group3

Main Objectives

The Biodiversity Protection Community (BPC) builds on the efforts of PANACeA during the period 2016-2019 in:

• assisting and ensuring synergies between the community of thematic projects of Biodiversity protection
• acting as a Science-Policy-Interface (SPI) to foster exchange of experiences and knowledge sharing to influence a behavioural and policy change.

To reach its objectives, the BPC ensures guiding two types of processes for an uptake by regional policies to support them reaching their targets to 2020 and to prioritise their policy aspirations beyond 2020 through:

• enforced and well managed PAs network
• working beyond MPAs with an ecosystem approach to address major types of pollution and climate change effects

Community projects:

• ACT4LITTER
• AMAre
• CONFISH
• ECOSUSTAIN
• FishMPABlue2
• MEDSEALITTER
• MPA-ADAPT
• PHAROS4MPAs
• PlasticBustersMPAs
• POSBEMED
• POSBEMED 2
• WETNET
• TUNE UP
• MPA NETWORKS
• MPA ENGAGE

Partners: