The design and planning of PosBeMED 2’s pilot actions are being adjusted to deal with the limitations imposed by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the spread of COVID-19 is expected to reduce the number of tourists on Mediterranean beaches this year, governmental authorities will soon start preparing their coastline for the holiday season. Until mid-2021, PosBeMED 2 will carry out pilot actions in 8 marine protected areas along the Mediterranean coastline.

The results of these actions will be used to improve the management plans and measures in the protected areas, with the aim of building an action framework to enhance resilience of the Posidonia coastal zone.  Capacity training and coaching coastal managers about the best practices for managing Posidonia-dune beaches will offer additional support to implement the adaptation and mitigation plans.

TWO NEW TRAINING WORKSHOPS PROGRAMMED FOR NEXT FALL

To handle the situation proactively, PosBeMED 2’s partners have planned the following workshops for after the summer season:

• End September 2020: Capacity building workshop on management and monitoring beach dynamics, erosion and coastal management.

• October-December 2020: Capacity building workshop to develop he Posidonia coastal area and promote natural beaches. Training for public administration officers working in project and associate partner sites dealing with Tourism stakeholders.

The execution of these activities will be subject to further developments in the contention and mitigation of pandemic. Moreover, online sessions will be prioritized where possible.

The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation is partner in this project who is led by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia – Department of the Environment – Nature conservation and forestry policies Office (RAS, Italy), and involves 6 other partners from the Mediterranean basin: NATURA-JADERA public institution for management of protected areas in the County of Zadar (Croatia), the Institute for the Study of Anthropogenic Impact and Sustainability in the Marine Environment of the National Research Council (IAS – CNR, Italy),the Region of Central Macedonia (RCM, Greece), the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (HSPN, Greece), the Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre (Enalia, Cyprus), the Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (France).

Photo: © Mar Otero, IUCN-Med