The third and final seminar in the current series of the European Commission’s Natura 2000 Marine Biogeographical Process was hosted in the historic Palais du Pharo in Marseille last week. It was very well attended, with representatives of national authorities from ten EU countries of the Mediterranean and Black Seas presenting to the European Commission on their pledge processes for new marine protected areas and new conservation measures for habitats and species. Most countries in these regions have a considerable way to go to reach 30% of marine areas under protection as required by the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, as shown in this chart from the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Anna Addamo and Belinda Bramley were delighted to present MPA Europe during the seminar and knowledge market, and to informally discuss our project with stakeholders. We also participated in group discussions on the role of Natura 2000 sites and other marine protected areas (MPAs) in marine restoration, a particularly pertinent topic in light of the European Parliament’s recent approval of the new Nature Restoration Law; strict protection in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions and renewable energy and marine conservation.

A representative of the EEA reminded the audience of the urgency to act. Last week it issued a new European Climate Risk Assessment report, the first of its kind, highlighting that among climate risks related to ecosystems, risks to coastal and marine ecosystems are the most severe in the current period and entail the highest urgency to act. The report recommends strengthening marine protection and marine spatial planning, with a focus on protecting essential coastal ecosystems under climate change.  

The MPA Europe project is providing new scientific information on marine ecosystem classifications; blue carbon sediment maps and modelled species distributions under all IPCC climate change scenarios for science-based marine spatial planning (MSP) and designation of coherent networks of MPAs. These results come at an important moment for national authorities and regional organisations charged with marine protection and climate smart MSP, and we look forward to ongoing engagement with stakeholders to support their work.

Further information and presentations from last week’s Mediterranean and Black Sea seminar may be found here.