Page 8 - climate-change2013

Context and aim of this guide

Increasing greenhouse gas concentrations are expect- Commission recently adopted a Strategy on Adapta-
ed to have a significant impact on world climate over a tion to Climate Change in April 2013 to promote greater
short time scale. The world’s atmosphere and oceans coordination and information sharing among Member
are warming, and the most immediate effects of this States, and to ensure that adaptation considerations
on the marine environment include rising sea levels, are addressed in all relevant EU policies.
higher seawater temperatures and acidification, more
frequent extreme events and changes in oxygen levels
or deoxygenation processes (IPCC Fourth Assessment Adaptation to climate change refers
Report, 2007). Due to these pressures and ecosystem to adjustment in natural or human
responses, climate change is now considered a major systems in response to actual or
driver of biodiversity change and loss. Its importance expected climatic stimuli or their effects,
has been highlighted by several international conven- which moderates harm or exploits
tions and treaties, including the Convention on Biologi- beneficial opportunities (IPCC, 2007).
cal Diversity and the Kyoto Protocol.

The latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) found that the Mediterrane- Basin-wide monitoring has to be developed to assist
an will be strongly affected by climate change over the with the above protocols and strategies. It may be easi-
course of this century. The oceanographic and physical er to observe climate change effects in protected areas
aspects of climate change in the Mediterranean have as they are normally better shielded from anthropogen-
been described in many reports and scientific studies, ic impacts than other areas, and therefore there is likely
although uncertainty remains about the degree of phys- to be less interference from other causes of change. In
ical and chemical change expected at sub-regional and this regard, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Medi-
local scales (Lionello, 2012). terranean can play an important role as ‘sentinel sites’,
where the effects of climate change can be studied and
Despite its importance for biodiversity conservation, lit- management strategies can be developed to adapt to,
tle is yet known about the biological impact of climate and wherever possible counter, such negative effects.
change on Mediterranean coastal and marine biodiver- Individual MPAs and the Mediterranean MPA network
sity at all levels, as much of the current understanding is therefore have an important role to play in enhancing
based on models, very few studies and discontinuous our understanding and helping to develop strategies to
data mainly from the north-western part of the Mediter- mitigate climate change effects.
ranean Sea (CIESM, 2008; Lejeusne et al., 2009; Coll
et al., 2010; UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA, 2010). Basin-wide Not only can climate change be monitored in MPAs
monitoring and information gathering on key Mediterra- throughout the Mediterranean as a way of improving
nean species and ecosystems therefore remains crucial our understanding and management of its effects, but
for mitigating climate change effects and adapting to it is also becoming a growing challenge to the man-
them. Furthermore, the region’s marine and coastal en- agement of the MPAs themselves. There are currently
vironments are increasingly threatened by the impacts 675 MPAs in the Mediterranean, covering a total area of
of a growing population and rising demand for natural almost 114,600 km², about 4.6% of the Mediterranean
resources. The combination of these pressures is likely Sea, or just 1.1% if we exclude the Pelagos Sanctuary
to exacerbate the consequences of climate change. (87,500 km²), which alone accounts for 3.5% (Gabrié
et al., 2012). Direct evidence of the effects of climate
To address the impact of climate change on biodiversity, change is already being observed at some sites (Ben-
the Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation soussan et al., 2010; Crisci et al., 2011; Cebrian et al.,
of Biological Diversity (SAP BIO) in the Mediterranean 2011). However, climate change is still not explicitly in-
Region set up under the Barcelona Convention Medi- corporated in most MPA management plans and fu-
terranean Action Plan (MAP) in 2003, was updated on ture assessment of MPA performance will need to take
climate change issues in 2009; In addition, the Almeria these effects into account.
th
Declaration was adopted at the 15 Ordinary Meeting of Overall, at the Mediterranean regional level, few pro-
the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention in grammes aim to assess the impacts of climate change
2008 to provide an action framework for Mediterranean on marine biodiversity or to support adaptation plan-
countries. From a coastal perspective, the Mediterra- ning in MPAs and other areas of conservation value. In
1
nean ICZM Protocol also provides a platform to main- a global context, Marine Protected Areas increase the
stream climate change adaptation into the policies and adaptive capacity of coastal and marine communities
governance of coastal management. At EU level, the
and buffer potential climate change impacts. Building
the capacity of MPAs through data collection, monitor-
ing and awareness-raising about climate change con-
1. PAP/RAC. 2007. ICZM Protocol in the Mediterranean (signed in Madrid on 21
January 2008) tributes to the efforts being made across the region to

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