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Integrating Awareness-raising activities can further help to create
community understanding of issues and develop effec-
climate change into tive partnerships for future actions. The funding for a
monitoring programme might not currently be available,
MPA monitoring but MPA managers or administrative bodies should
actively seek to form partnerships with other organiza-
tions involved in similar programmes to find the funding
required.
The indicators and monitoring procedures described
above should help determine what is changing in MPAs An effective MPA network will require coordinated, inte-
and what individual actions, if any, can be taken to ad- grated programmes that address a combination of key
dress these changes. Regular surveys and specific elements, and the monitoring involved will be improved
monitoring programmes can help reveal the vulnerabili- through international collaboration and/or integration
ties of the ecosystem and suggest possible adaptations with existing surveillance networks.
to provide the best chance for MPAs to adapt and re-
cover from the threats ahead. The development of collaborative e-tools (web plat-
forms) devoted to the management and analysis of
For individual MPAs, the first steps in establishing a the data generated by MPA climate change monitor-
monitoring programme that integrates climate change ing schemes should be considered an essential step
objectives should be to analyse existing monitoring in tracking climate change effects in the Mediterranean.
methods and adopt monitoring targets at different The adoption of common standard monitoring proto-
scales, and then to develop a sampling strategy based cols across the MPA network would facilitate the devel-
on the key elements identified for the particular sites. opment of such web platforms. The results of climate
Monitoring using automatic devices such as tempera- change monitoring and reported impacts could be up-
ture loggers and salinity sensors can produce a con- loaded and presented on them, forming a basis for cre-
siderable amount of information on environmental con- ating shared databases, through which local situations
ditions for a limited outlay. This can be supplemented could be displayed and presented at a regional level.
with field-based monitoring at specific sites to examine
key characteristics of marine communities and species, Coastal marshes and seagrasses, particularly Posi-
in order to determine the particular effects of climate donia oceanica, are important habitats for carbon se-
change. As further information is generated by regional questration and storage (Pergent et al., 2012, see page
climate change surveillance programmes and by MPAs, 21). Currently, carbon emissions from the conversion
it may prove necessary to place greater emphasis on of vegetated coastal ecosystems are not included in
specific issues or to add particularly vulnerable sites or emissions accounting or carbon market protocols, but
habitats in order to assist with adaptive planning. it is highly likely that they will be in future, providing a
potential alternative source of funding for conserving
From a management effectiveness perspective, man- these habitats in MPAs. It would be useful to develop
agement plans should not only assess whether there a study or programme to examine the specific contri-
is evidence of climate change impact but also meas- bution made by these habitats and to monitor carbon
ure the management improvements resulting from the flow in them in order to help assess their importance in
mitigation of this impact and its potential outcomes. mitigating climate change.

Tissue necrosis in the Mediterranean
sponge Crambe crambe.

Photo: J. Garrabou

MEDITERRANEAN MARINE PROTECTED AREAS AND CLIMATE CHANGE: A GUIDE TO REGIONAL MONITORING AND ADAPTATION OPPORTUNITIES 41