Title:

Mapping of marine Key habitats and assessing their vulnerability to fishing activities in the Mediterranean - MedKeyHabitats II Project

Total duration :

30 months, from July 2017 to December 2019

Execution:

This project is executed by SPA/RAC in partnership with IUCN-Med and MedPAN

Objectives :

The MedKeyHabitats II Project aims to establish a mapping inventory of marine key habitats on six pilot sites in Mediterranean countries and to assess their sensitivity to fishing activities.

This project will also contribute to the objectives of the MAVA Foundation for the Mediterranean and enable the related countries to fulfil their obligations vis-à-vis regional and global environmental Conventions, regarding the conservation of fragile and threatened habitats, the creation and development of an ecologically representative network of marine protected areas, and to the reduction of the fishing impacts on biodiversity.

Activities :

The activities carried out by SPA/RAC under this project are:

• Action 1: Conduct cartographic inventories of marine key habitats of conservation interest, assess their vulnerability to fishing activities, and propose zoning and management measures;
• Action 2: Set up and strengthen the monitoring techniques for marine key habitats;
• Action 3: Improve the capacity of involved countries to establish, maintain and update geodatabases on marine key habitats and their sensitivity to fishing activities; and
• Action 4: Disseminate the project’s outputs and results to national and local stakeholders and communicate on the value of key habitats and their importance for sustainable fisheries.

Outputs :

The results of the mapping inventories of marine habitats and the assessment of their vulnerability to fishing activities in El Hoceima National Park in Morocco, Kuriat Islands MPA in Tunisia, Foça Special Environmental Protection Area in Turkey, Cape Greco MPA in Cyprus, Habibas Islands and Paloma Island in Algeria, Malta, as well as the National Action Plan for the Conservation of Marine Vegetation in Cyprus are presented in the documents published here.

Beneficiary Countries:

Algeria, Cyprus, Malta, Tunisia, Turkey and Morocco

Partners:

IUCN-Med and MedPAN are indirect partners of this project for specific activities.

Funding:

The MedKeyHabitats II project is financially supported by the MAVA Foundation.

For more information on the MedKeyHabitats II Project, please contact

car-asp@spa-rac.org

_{Photo Credits: © Sandrine Ruitton}