Group photo of training participants
MedPAN
In early June, 18 managers of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and representatives of MPA authorities from 12 Mediterranean countries gathered in Monastir, Tunisia, for the second in-person session of MedPAN’s regular training programme on ecological restoration. The week built on four online sessions held earlier in the year and gave participants the chance to put newly acquired concepts into practice through case studies and a full day in the field.
The training was organised in partnership with the NGO Notre Grand Bleu and the Tunisian Agency for the Protection of the Coastline (APAL), co-managers of the Kuriat Islands MPA. It forms part of the GEF-funded project “Build back a blue and stronger Mediterranean” (GEF ID 10685), jointly executed by MedPAN and The MedFund with Conservation International as GEF Implementing Agency (CI-GEF Agency), and benefited from additional support from the EU-funded REST-COAST project. Its goal: to strengthen the ability of MPA managers to assess, prioritise and implement restoration actions suited to their local realities.
Participants came from MPAs and institutions in Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Greece, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey.
Facilitated by Patrick Astruch (GIS Posidonie) and independent consultant Pierre Vignes, the training was structured around a decision-making framework that helps managers determine whether a restoration intervention is warranted and, if so, whether conservation, passive restoration or active restoration is the most appropriate response. Working in small groups, participants spent the week developing Restoration Action Plans (RAPs) based on real case studies from their own MPAs.
The first sessions focused on ecological diagnostics: identifying the degradation trajectories affecting marine ecosystems, the pressures behind them, and the restoration needs that follow.
Training session at Notre Grand Bleu headquaters; Bottlenose dolphin observed during the training the session; End of training ceremony
MedPAN
Participants then worked on identifying and justifying the most suitable management responses for their context, applying the decision-making framework introduced during the training.
The second half of the week turned to feasibility. Groups examined the technical, institutional, financial and operational constraints likely to affect implementation, and discussed the long-term ecological monitoring and adaptive management mechanisms needed for restoration actions to succeed. The final day was dedicated to building business plans for the projects developed during the week. Awatef Abiadh, of The MedFund, presented a funder’s perspective on the expectations and prospects for ecological restoration projects in MPAs, while Guillaume Le Port, of BlueSeeds, introduced the MedPlan tool and financial planning approaches adapted to this type of initiative.
A highlight of the week was a full day in the field at the host MPA, the Kuriat Islands, where participants met the Notre Grand Bleu team to discuss conservation and management challenges on site. After an overview of the MPA’s ecological context, participants took part in a snorkelling-based ecological monitoring exercise focused on Posidonia seagrass meadows, an emblematic Mediterranean habitat. The immersion allowed them to observe first-hand the state of the ecosystem and the species present, identify some of the pressures affecting it, and discuss possible management responses.
Throughout the week, participants presented the contexts, challenges and restoration projects of their respective MPAs. These exchanges brought very different realities into dialogue and enriched the group’s collective thinking on ecological restoration challenges across the Mediterranean.
Such gatherings are one of the foundations of the MedPAN network: fostering the exchange of experience, encouraging collaboration, and sustaining a community of practice built around protecting and restoring the Mediterranean Sea.
Learning materials, resources and tools presented during the online sessions and the in-person workshop are available on the training’s dedicated page on the MedPAN website.
About the Project
The GEF-funded project “Build back a blue and stronger Mediterranean” (GEF ID 10685) strengthens the long-term, effective management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Mediterranean by securing sustainable financing for MPA core management costs and providing technical, strategic, organisational and institutional support to MPA managers. It is jointly executed by MedPAN, the network of Marine Protected Area managers in the Mediterranean, and The MedFund, the region’s conservation trust fund, with Conservation International (CI-GEF Agency) as the GEF Implementing Agency. More information available here.