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5.3 Analyses to guide recommended MPA design at each SPAMI site

Once the priority list is elaborated in chronological order, the planning of each SPAMI must be
undertaken, taking into account not only the threats to the particular site and the species within it,
but also the political, economic, and logistical feasibilities of protecting the area. This must be
done on a site-by-site basis, guided by the best possible information on ecology, human uses, and
impacts of these uses.

We feel strongly that SPAMIs are only as good as their management regime: the difficult task is
thus not the selection of SPAMI site so much as astute planning to provide appropriate and
effective governance mechanisms, determine boundaries of the protected area, zoning within it,
and regulations pertaining to each zone. In addition, SPAMIs should be planned with a research
and monitoring protocol that not only furthers our scientific understanding but also acts to allow
SPAMI management to be adapted as needs and conditions change.

While it is clear that time is of the essence, deliberate, strategic and robust planning should
underpin each SPAMI designation in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The reason for this is that
it is in theory more difficult to adapt the management of the areas outside SPAMIs, in order to
ensure that these ‘islands of protection’ are not undermined by degradation in surrounding ABNJ
areas, than inside the EEZ or Territorial Seas of any coastal nation, where inputs and outputs can
be better controlled. Thus, it is imperative that the SPAMI be well-designed, and managed
adaptively.

In undertaking a strategic SPAMI planning process, the following are common elements:

1. Bounding ecosystems to determine scale and scope of management;

2. Assessing ecosystem conditions, threats, and drivers;

3. Appraising management needs;

4. Integrating management and evaluating trade-offs and choices;

5. Monitoring to determine efficacy of management.

Finally, it will be important to periodically evaluate the extent to which the entire Mediterranean
SPAMI network is meeting the goals put forward by the Barcelona Convention. Evaluating the
whole network will mean determining not only management effectiveness, but the extent to which
the system is truly representative of the Mediterranean’s great wealth of biodiversity.