NATIONAL PRIORITIES DEFINED FOR A NEW BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION STRATEGY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

The Mediterranean Sea is a biodiversity hotspot. Its conservation requires coordinated action on a regional scale, which at the same time responds to the specificities of each country.

Since Februrary  2020, the SPA/RAC is preparing the Post-2020 Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Mediterranean Region (Post-2020 SAPBIO).

During this period, SPA/RAC elaborated a guidance document on the elaboration process of the Post-2020 SAPBIO, in consultation with the Advisory Committee.

SPA/RAC has also launched the SAPBIO elaboration process at national level through assisting the preparation of national reports by all Parties on current status and challenges of Mediterranean biodiversity and living resources at national level. They are being followed by the organisation of national online workshops from July to October, to identify the priorities and orientations of each Mediterranean country in terms of marine and coastal biodiversity conservation.

National online workshops organized within the SAPBIO elaboration process

The consultations, leaded by the country National Correspondents, involved national stakeholders (government officials, scientists, NGOs representatives and other resource persons) from different fields of expertise as well as their SPA/RAC National Focal Point.

This process of national consultations is almost completed at the moment, and will result in the publication of national reports including in particular:

• the state of marine and coastal biodiversity, with its current impacts and their drivers
• the conclusions and related priority actions
• the national needs in terms of capacity building, data access/sharing, cooperation and financial resource mobilisation.

In a next stage, sub-regional analyses and consultations will be conducted to foster complementarity and harmonisation between the national priority actions, notably those with transboundary nature such as biological invasions, transboundary species populations, climate change, representativity and connectivity of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

Steps for the elaboration of the Post-2020 SAPBIO