In addition to bolstering the management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Mediterranean, the IMAP-MPA project (funded by the European Union) is supporting the uptake and implementation of the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (IMAP), a landmark instrument adopted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention with a view to harmonizing data collection and processing across the basin.
With the support of the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (SPA/RAC), two national meetings were recently organized in Tunisia and Libya in the framework of the IMAP-MPA project. Five more meetings are planned in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Morocco by the end of 2020.
The IMAP-MPA national meetings bring together representatives of government departments and technical institutions in charge of data collection and processing. This constitutes an important step toward the establishment of fully operational “national IMAP committees”, the role of which would be to translate the IMAP concept (as adopted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention) into effective environmental data production mechanisms in the field. By enabling this process, the IMAP-MPA project will contribute to the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach in the Mediterranean.
Under the IMAP-MPA project, work related to monitoring and assessment will focus on “Pollution and Marine Litter”, “Biodiversity and Non-Indigenous Species” and “Coast and Hydrography”. By producing data to shed light on the environmental status of Marine Protected Areas and areas subject to high pressure from human activity, the IMAP-MPA project will contribute to the UNEP/MAP reports on the state of the Mediterranean marine and coastal ecosystems, including the Mediterranean Quality Status Report (Med QSR).
Building on IMAP Common Indicators, MED QSR is produced periodically on a six-year basis. Following the 2017 edition, the next MED Quality Status Report will be delivered in 2023.
