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SUSTAINABLE FINANCING OF MPAs IN THE MEDITERRANEAN: A FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

5 FINANCIAL NEEDS AND FUNDING GAP FOR THE

MANAGEMENT OF MPAS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
REGION

KEY POINTS:
The method used here to scrutinize MPA needs for effective management is the first
of this kind in the region. It provides financial data on needs for 14 countries in the
Mediterranean, and estimates a regional financing gap for 7 non-EU countries – Albania,
Monaco, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Montenegro and Tunisia – and 7 EU countries – Croatia,
Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain.
As shown by the study, MPAs are underfunded, resulting in ineffective management:
official data from 17 countries shows that total available resources for existing MPA
systems in the region are nearly €54.5M per year. But, this need to be compared with the
financing needs for effective management of MPAs. Estimates of the effective
management needs for national MPA systems, aggregated for 14 countries in the region,
show a financing gap (available funds minus financial needs) for MPAs of €700M per
year to simply address effective management activities. The financing gap for the 7
EU countries studied is estimated to be €458M in 2014, and it is €17M for the 7 non-EU
countries studied.
Current revenues only cover 12% of financial needs across all Mediterranean MPAs
(9% if investment costs are included). This value, considered as a minimum for the
financial needs of Mediterranean MPAs, is particularly worrying, considering the decrease
in current resources for MPAs while the pressures on coastal ecosystems increase due to
climate change and higher anthropogenic pressures from tourism and fisheries.
The surface area of MPAs to be created by 2020 in the Mediterranean coastal zone to
attain the Aichi target has been estimated at around 49,000 km2, representing a total
creation cost of €25M. The total financing gap for the ideal management scenario
13
for the 12 countries studied in the Mediterranean amounts to €7.002bn. This
represents an average value of €132,600 per km² to reach the Aichi target.
The financing gap for this scenario is estimated at €1.162bn for the non-EU countries in
the study (Albania, Egypt, Israel, Monaco and Tunisia). This corresponds to the
creation of 5,738 km² in the countries studied (compared with 712 km² of current MPAs).
The financing gap is estimated to about €5.839bn for the EU countries of the study
(Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain). This estimate is for the
creation of 34,141 km² (compared with 45,999 km² of current MPAs – excluding the
Pelagos sanctuary).

This financing effort to reach the Aichi target is substantial when compared with the
current resources directed to MPAs. This financing effort corresponds mainly to the
creation of new MPAs that would definitely lead to major benefits for tourism, fisheries and

13 - Montenegro and Lebanon were excluded from the funding gap analysis due to a lack of information on existing MPA
systems.

May 2015 – Vertigo Lab, for MedPAN, RAC/SPA and WWF Med. Page 70