The kick-off meeting for the project on "Development and implementation of species action plans in Mediterranean countries: improving capacity management for conservation of endangered species in North Africa" took place on 12 June in Algiers (Algeria).

This meeting was an opportunity to present the project and activities to be implemented during these three years (2012-2015) to the different partners in the three Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia). The criteria for selecting species that will benefit from the development of conservation action plans were also discussed and agreed. Thirty representatives of official bodies, NGOs and academia from all the three countries attended the kick-off meeting.

The final selection of priority species at the national and transnational levels will be decided based on the results of the selection criteria reviewed. Participants were asked to provide proposals of potential species to be considered for the preparation of action plans. Some species proposals have already been addressed in transnational conservation strategies, for example, the Algire Salamander (Salamandra algira).

This project is coordinated by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, in collaboration with the IUCN Species Programme and the support of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC), and the government agencies responsible for environment and conservation of species and ecosystems in the three countries. The project counts with financial support from the MAVA Foundation.

Through this project, IUCN-Med seeks to promote expertise and share experiences to develop conservation strategies for endangered species in Mediterranean countries. Initially, this project will cover three Maghreb countries: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.