GreenList4MMPAs is a project funded by the Interreg Euro-MED programme, which aims to promote effective and equitable management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Mediterranean Region.

The project brings together six partners from five different countries. It aims to adapt the IUCN Green List to the Mediterranean marine context to support the Mediterranean MPAs in achieving their environmental and socio-economic objectives. The Green List is a Global Standard of Good Practice for Protected Areas. Over 27 months and with a total budget of €600,000, the GreenList4MMPAs project will develop specific indicators and methods for assessing MPAs, providing a useful and actionable tool for MPA managers.

Project Partners:
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (Italy), International Union For Conservation Of Nature And Natural Resources (IUCN, Spain), WWF Adria Association for the nature protection and conservation of biological diversity (Croatia), University of the Aegean – Research Unit (Greece), IUCN French Committee (France), Côte Bleue Marine Park (France).

SZN PhD Progam Body of Rules

and

Fellowship and tax information

Reconciling conservation and exploitation of a key fish species through networks of Marine Protected Areas

Acronym: Reconnect

Duration of the project: 24 months

Project code: 2022Y3TMR7

PI of the project: Antonio Di Franco

Partners: Università degli Studi di Padova, Politecnico di Milano

Networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a key tool for biodiversity conservation and management as they can promote healthy marine ecosystems and provide socio-economic benefits to local communities. One of the major benefits of MPAs is that they support small-scale fisheries by increasing the number of larval, juvenile, and adult individuals in unprotected sites. A network of MPAs can facilitate the exchange of individuals (called ‘connectivity’) between MPAs themselves and unprotected areas, improving the status of a fish population.

Using the brown grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) as a model species, the ‘Reconnect’ project has as its main objectives:

• the identification of areas that host high densities of potential brown grouper spawners and which may therefore represent breeding areas, by collecting data using non-destructive methods such as visual census underwate

• the estimated dispersal of grouper larvae from possible spawning sites

• the assessment of the connection between existing MPAs and those that might be created in the future, with the aim of creating an effective network of MPAs that protects fish species and offers benefits to small-scale fisheries

We will focus on the brown grouper, Epinephelus marginatus, because this species plays a key ecological role in the rocky seabed of the Mediterranean and is an important species for both fishing and sustainable tourism activities (such as diving). The project will be developed along the Sicilian coasts, which are crucial for the Mediterranean ecosystem and host numerous MPAs, and several sites that could become new MPAs in the future.

For more detailed information, write to:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.