The MedPAN South Project
Working together for more effective Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean.
The MedPAN South Project is a 4-year collaborative project aimed at improving the management effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the south and east of the Mediterranean and supporting the creation of new ones.Led by WWF Mediterranean, it partners with more than 20 national and international organizations to deliver an ambitious programme of support for the MPAs and relevant authorities in the 11 GEF-eligible countries of the south and east of the Mediterranean.
Objective
The MedPAN South Project aims to enhance the effective conservation of regionally important coastal and marine biodiversity features by:- supporting 11 countries in the south and east of the Mediterranean to improve the management effectiveness of their existing MPAs and establish new ones
- strengthening MedPAN, the Mediterranean network of MPA managers.
- Lack of well defined conservation objectives and management plans;
- Lack of local support because of little information available and participation;
- Insufficient funds;
- Insufficient and poorly trained field staff;
- Insufficient information about protected areas status and basic ecological issues that allow for an appropriate management;
- Weak networking and capacity sharing among MPA managers, practitioners and responsible authorities;
- High interference with other human activities occurring in coastal zones, mainly tourism and fisheries;
- Weak MPA integration into landscape and broader development plans.
The MedPartnership
The MedPAN South Project is part of the Biodiversity Component of the MedPartnership GEF full-sized project “Strategic partnership for the Mediterranean sea large marine ecosystem (LME)” led by UNEP.More information about the MedPartnership.
Project Coordination
WWF Mediterranean is responsible for the coordination and supervision of the MedPAN South Project. Local Coordination Units have been established in each pilot project.Specific contracts and MoUs have also been signed between WWF Mediterranean and the different donors, the regional organizations (in particular UNEP MAP MEDU and UNEP MAP RAC / SPA), and the local partners.
Find out more about the coordination bodies of the MedPartnership.
Other actors, such as WWF France (coordinator of the MedPAN North Project, an EC funded project) or IUCN Mediterranean also participate to optimize the Mediterranean coordination of interventions (as provided in the PASBIO).
Video: the role of MPAs
Project overview
Project Duration
- 48 months (Nov 2008 - Oct 2012)
- 3,800,100 Euros
- MPAs managers, practitioners and relevant authorities of Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Montenegro, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine, and Turkey.
- Support countries in the south and east of the Mediterranean to improve the management effectiveness of their MPAs
- Promote the establishment of new MPAs
- Strengthen MedPAN, the Mediterranean network of MPA managers
- 5 pilot projects in Algeria, Croatia, Libya, Tunisia and Turkey to showcase solutions to some MPA problems
- A region-wide capacity building programme
Funding Breakdown for the MEDPAN SOUTH project.
With financial support from the MAVA Foundation, the French Global Environmental Facility and EC/UNEP.
Eleven countries are involved in the MedPAN South Project
Eleven countries participate in the MedPAN South Project
Logos of donors of the MedPAN South Projects