The principles of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) are being translated into concrete actions in ten different locations supported by a new Mediterranean information highway portal under the PEGASO project. IUCN-Med is one of the 25 partners involved to move forward this EU funded project.

In the Mediterranean Sea, the 7 sites selected for the Pegaso project are the Al Hoceima coast, Bouches du Rhöne, North Adriatic Sea, Aegean Islands, Dalyan-Köycegiz Special Protected Area, North Lebanon Coastal Zone and the Nile Delta. In the Black Sea, the Danube Delta, Sevastopol Bay, and the Guria Coastal Region.

In general, the 10 pilot sites are moving fast to provide key data at different geographic scales and shape a new regional scenario towards the implementation of the novel ICZM Protocol for the Mediterranean. With these fresh data at hand, research experts, government officials and university representatives from all over the Mediterranean and the Black Seas met in Oostende, Belgium from 22 to 25 October to obtain their "driving license" to the most powerful highway for Mediterranean coastal zone management: the Pegaso SDI. (Spatial Data Infrastructure)

The Pegaso project is funded by the European Union within FP7- ENV.2009.2.2.1.4 Integrated Coastal Zone Management.