An extraordinary Meeting of the Focal Points for SPAs (Specially Protected Areas) was held in Istanbul on the 1st and 2nd of June 2010. The Meeting was attended by delegations from 18 Mediterranean countries, as well as observers from the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), FAO, the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM), IUCN, WWF, Greenpeace International, the MedPAN Association, the Agreement for the establishment of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and the Turkish Marine Research Foundation.
The main objective of the Meeting was the identification of 12 Mediterranean areas with specific interest for biodiversity conservation, situated in the Mediterranean high seas, including the deep sea, and could be candidates for the creation of new marine protected areas.
During the Meeting, the representatives from France and Spain expressed their intention to pursue the inclusion of the Gulf of Lions in the SPAMI list (Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance).* The Spanish delegates also expressed their intention to collaborate with the European Commission as regards the admission of the Balearic islands in the SPAMI list, whilst taking into consideration the ICCAT’s (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) provisions for the conservation of the Atlantic Tuna in the area. Slovenia also proposed the establishment of a SPAMI in the Adriatic region, urging the countries bordering the Adriatic to cooperate towards such an act.
The twelve areas which were identified at the end of the Meeting include : the Albor?n Seamounts, the Southern Balearic, the Gulf of Lions shelf and slope, the Central Tyrrhenian portion adjacent to the Pelagos Sanctuary, the Tunisian Plateau (more specifically the Northern Strait of Sicily including Adventure and nearby Banks and the Southern Strait of Sicily), the Northern and Central Adriatic, Santa Maria di Leuca in the Ionian Sea and the Northeastern Ionian, the Thracian Sea (Aegean), the Northeastern Levantine Sea and Rhodes Gyre, the Nile Delta Region. A final report with proposals on the extension of the marine protected areas list will be presented on the 17th Meeting of the Contracting Parties at the end of 2011.
Note: The establishment, the procedure for the establishment and changes in the status of SPAMIS is provided in Arts. 8-10 of the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean, 1995.
Source: UNEP/MAP
For further information:
http://www.unepmap.org/index.php?module=news&action=detail&id=90
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MEPIELAN Centre
MEPIELAN Centre is an international research, training and educational centre established by Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos at the Panteion University of Athens in 2008.
Before its establishment as a University Centre, MEPIELAN operated as a successful international research, training and informational programme (2002-2007) under the scientific direction of Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos and the aegis of the Panteion University of Athens, supported by the Mediterranean Action Plan/UNEP and the Greek Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works.
MEPIELAN Centre is an accredited UNEP/MAP PARTNER (since 2013), a Member of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) (since 2016), and a Member of the Steering Committee of the MCSD (since 2019).
On 22 May 2022, MEPIELAN Centre proceeded to the development of MEPIELAN as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) for the more effective and efficient advancement of its Goals and Missions and furtherance of its activities. MEPIELAN Centre as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) is registered in Greek Law (Hellenic Business Registry, Reg. No. 16477300100) in accordance with Laws 4072/2012 & 4919/2022 as applicable
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