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SUSTAINABLE FINANCING OF MPAs IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: A FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

In order to meet their obligations States must first create a sufficient number of MPAs and
subsequently take the necessary conservation measures to ensure the long-term survival of
these Protected Areas. In practice, a wide variety of activities are necessary for the effective
management of national MPA systems. These activities may include field studies and
monitoring, development of management plans, habitat restoration, user education, etc.
Despite the significant progress in achieving this, more effort is needed to overcome some of
the obstacles encountered by Protected Areas (and MPAs) (UNEP/CBD/COP/12/9/Add1,
2014):
 Further effort in communication strategies and campaigns to increase awareness of
biodiversity and its value and of ways to support conservation and sustainable use;
 Further effort in the assessment of the socioeconomic implications of biodiversity loss
and in identifying the main drivers motivating behaviour for biodiversity conservation;

 Development of integrated policies to address habitat loss and degradation, covering
positive and negative incentives;
 Promotion of stakeholder engagement with the general public, sector groups and
indigenous communities; and
 Greater use of innovative fisheries management systems (joint management) that
provide fishers and local communities with a greater stake in the long-term health of
fish stocks; further effort to reform unsustainable subsidies of fishing practices.
These shortcomings have financial implications for national and regional authorities and MPA
managers. However, despite an increase in international financing for biodiversity (and MPA
management), the capacity to implement the Convention’s targets, in terms of trained staff,
financial resources and technical material, is limited in many countries, in particular in the
least developed ones. Funding assessments available for Aichi target implementation
suggest that much greater investment in biodiversity conservation is needed (Convention on
Biological Diversity, 2013).

2.1.2 Marine Protected Areas systems in the Mediterranean

While representing less than 1% of world oceans, the Mediterranean is one of the world's
biodiversity hotspots: the 21 Mediterranean coastal states count between 4 and 18% of all
known marine species and the second highest percentage of endemic species in the world
(Mouillot et al., 2011; Coll et al., 2011). The Mediterranean is also one of the maritime areas
where human activity is the most intensive. Since the 1960s, heavy fishing pressure, high
population density (150 million inhabitants live on the Mediterranean coast and 170 million
1
tourists visit it each year ), growing pollution, and future temperature increase have justified
the need for protection of species and habitats, through the creation of Marine Protected
Areas (MPAs).

In this report, the definition used for an MPA is the latest one provided by the IUCN (Dudley,
2008) and adapted to the marine environment in a study jointly undertaken by MedPAN and
RAC/SPA:
“a marine protected area is a clearly defined geographical marine area, - including sub-tidal,
inter-tidal and supra-tidal or lagoon/coastal lake area which is continuously or temporarily
connected to the sea, together with its overlying water - recognised, dedicated and managed,

1
http://www.unepmap.org/index.php?module=content2&catid=001003003

May 2015 – Vertigo Lab, for MedPAN, RAC/SPA and WWF Med. Page 18