SPECIAL FEATURE

SPOTLIGHT

Informing Freshwater Species Conservation in the North-Western Mediterranean

Freshwater biodiversity in the Mediterranean Basin Hotspot is remarkably diverse and highly threatened as confirmed by the IUCN Mediterranean Biodiversity Red List assessments. The process to identify and delineate of freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) in north-west Mediterranean, including Portugal, Spain, France, Italy to Malta, has recently been completed with the aim to provide critical data for priority conservation actions on the ground and better catchment management.

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Strategy and Action Plan for the Conservation of Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) in Tunisia 2018-2027

Climate change a real threat to the Top 50 Mediterranean Island Plants - UPDATE 2017

Core support to the activities of the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation is provided by the
Junta de Andalucia, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery, Food and Environment and AECID in Spain, and the MAVA Foundation.

Exchange of experiences to protect birdlife in Tunisia in collaboration with energy sector

A practical course for the exchange and transfer of knowledge between Spain and Tunisia in the field of bird conservation took place from 30 November to 1 December 2017, at the Training and Development Center of Khlédia of the Tunisian Society Electricity and Gas (STEG).

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Towards the establishment of the Green List of Protected Areas in the Maghreb countries

On 21 and 22 November 2017, the regional workshop on the Green List of Protected Areas in North Africa was held in Tunis. This event was jointly organized by the IUCN Center for Mediterranean Cooperation and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.

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Moving forward the Mediterranean Regional Cooperation Platform on Marine Litter

The second meeting of the Regional Cooperation Platform was held on 9-10 November 2017, in Barcelona, to review the progress achieved on the implementation of the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean launched last year and led by the UN Environment.

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Assessment of the applicability of the Red List of Ecosystems in Tunisia

A workshop on the Red List of Ecosystems was organized for the first time in Tunisia on October 17, 2017, in collaboration with the Directorate of Forestry (DGF). The purpose of this workshop was to present IUCN's methodology and to discuss the possibilities of its application to Tunisian ecosystems.

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What are the perceptions about posidonia banquettes on Mediterranean beaches?

It has been a busy summer for POSBEMED project team! The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation and project partners have been conducting surveys on Mediterranean beaches among beach users, tourist operators and beach managers in Spain, Cyprus, Greece, France and Italy.

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Exchange and cooperation between the Maghreb and France biosphere reserves

A delegation of senior officials and biosphere reserve (BR) managers from three North African countries (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), accompanied by the head of the North Africa Program at IUCN-Med, met with managers of RB of France (Mont Ventoux, Camargue and the Cevennes).

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Sharing experiences between Tunisian conservation NGO

In order to capitalize on the results and share the experiences initiated under the PPI-OSCAN programme, the IUCN Center for Mediterranean Cooperation organized, on November 23rd, 2017 in Tunis, a day of national restitution with the beneficiaries of the programme in Tunisia.

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Mediterranean Ecotourism In the Global Spotlight

IUCN Med's work in two regional initiatives focused on developing and promoting ecotourism that supports the conservation of Mediterranean protected areas were featured in a Global Sustainable Tourism Council training for tourism professionals and an international course organised by Harvard University.

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Restoration of cities with nature-based solutions

On November 27, the Conama began in the city of Valencia with the presence of more than 500 participants specialized in urban sustainability. Adaptation to climate change in cities, urban rehabilitation, energy transition, management of mobility and the creation of greener cities were some of the subjects addressed during this congress.

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Improving the management of endangered North African gazelles in captivity

Around 50 participants, belonging to management organizations of protected areas and reserves of three countries of North Africa met at the Tlemcen National Park in Algeria from 9 to 11 October 2017 to attend a training workshop on the captive management of threatened North African gazelles.

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DestiMED News Alert: Launch of Fall 2017 Package Tests on Ecotourism in the Mediterranean

On 25 September, DestiMED launched the first of seven pilot tests taking place Fall 2017 in and around Mediterranean protected area communities. Local cooperation teams created new ecotourism packages, and welcomed a group of industry experts who evaluated and provided feedback on the quality, sustainability, and market viability of the packages.

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Tirana hosted the 20th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention

Representatives of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention their 20th Ordinary meeting in Tirana, Albania, discussed "Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with focus on Sustainable Development Goal 14: Pollution and Biodiversity" during the high-level session which was held on 19th December 2018.

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Events

Mediterranean Regional Process: World Water Forum - 23-24 January 2018, Cairo (Egypt). Within the framework of the Mediterranean preparatory process for the 8th World Water Forum which will be held in Brasilia from 18 to 23 March 2018, a large mobilization of the Mediterranean water stakeholders will be organized by the Union for the Mediterranean.

World Wetlands Day – 2 February 2018. This year the day will be devoted to "Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future"

Advanced course on degraded drylands restoration and on desertification processes monitoring - 5-10 February 2018, Zaragoza (Spain). The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) of Zaragoza, in collaboration with IUCN-Med, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and the European Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER Europe), is offering an advanced course on degraded drylands restoration and on desertification processes monitoring.

Working Group on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (FAO-GFCM) - 26 February 2018, Rome (Italy). Update of information and distribution on Mediterranean VME indicators.

I International Congress of Mountains (CIMAS) - 5-11 March 2018, Granada (Spain). CIMAS will be a forum of exhibition, discussion and of consensus where knowledge and innovative ideas are contributed in order to make development and conservation compatible.

International Day of Forests – 21 March 2018. This year it will highlight the importance of wood energy in improving people's lives, powering sustainable development and mitigating climate change.

World Water Day – 22 March 2018. The theme for World Water Day 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’ – exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century.

Earth Day 2018 – 22 April 2018. It will focus on fundamentally changing human attitude and behavior about plastics and catalyzing a significant reduction in plastic pollution.

Events

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