Oceana MedNet is the first complete network of protected marine areas in the Mediterranean and offers a detailed description of the locations of the areas that need protection. It includes 100 places in a Mediterranean area measuring more than 200,000 square kilometres whose protection should help to achieve the target of 10% of protected sea areas set by the UN Convention on biodiversity. The proposal for the first network of protected marine areas (Amp) was made by NGO Oceana.
Even though deemed to be one planet's areas richest with marine biodiversity, the Mediterranean, with its 2.5 million square kilometres of surface, is currently only 4% protected.More specifically, the shoreline of the northern shore of the Mediterranean, except of the Sea Sanctuary measuring 85,700 square kilometres in Liguria, while the south shore is practically unprotected.
To this day, different initiatives carried out at regional level for contributing to the protection of the Mediterranean Sea and its resources. Nevertheless, these proposals concern great extensions that don't underline concrete geographical situations and, in some cases, they purely have a pelagic approach.
Oceana's proposal fills these gaps and answers to a systematic method of identification of the areas, using as a point of reference the main underwater contours. And it also takes into account the importance of certain species because of their exclusivity, productivity, vulnerability, biological diversity or because they are threatened or risk extinction.
'Oceana MedNet is an example of how we can set up an effective network of protected marine areas with our current knowledge base'', explained Ricardo Aguilar, Oceana Europa's research director. The tools to contribute to protecting 10% of the Mediterranean is there. Now it is up to the central and regional administrations to decide to use it and exploit it to protect the Mediterranean.
URL: Oceana Mednet Site Source: http://www.medgov.net