Coming from the 21 countries bordering the Mediterranean and beyond, representatives of diferent national agencies for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) managers, scientists, non-governmental organizations, as well as funding bodies and local economic actors participated at the 2012 forum of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean 2012, held from 25th-28th November in Antalya (Turkey). The Forum focused on how setting the pace to reach the 2020 target by Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), "achieve comprehensive, effectively managed, and ecologically representative national and regional systems of Marine Protected Areas" in the Mediterranean.

Many discussions and interesting meetings on a variety of topics were carried out. Among them, a review report was presented on the current situation of Marine Protected Areas in the region. MPA managers, scientists, European and Mediterranean institutions discussed and debated lessons learned, synergies, how reaching a closer dialogue with decision makers, as well as potential ways to secure a long-term financial mechanism for the Mediterranean MPAs network.

The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation participated and organised three special events related to climate change (MPAs talking and acting on climate change); building a strategy for marine invasive species in MPAs; and achieving effective MPA management (through the development of a guide to evaluate Mediterranean MPA management).

For these events IUCN-Med has prepared along with the WWF Mediterranean Programme Office and the MedPan Association the first publication to address climate change in the Mediterranean MPAs:

- A changing Mediterranean coastal marine environment under predicted climate-change scenarios. This brochure is a manager�s brief guide to understanding and addressing climate change impacts in MPAs.

IUCN also presented the Draft "Marine alien invasive species strategy for the MedPan network" (Consultation document) and the ongoing development of the guidelines for monitoring invasive species in protected areas.

Both activities are under the framework of the MedPan North project funded by both European Regional Development Fund and the AECID programme.