Marseille hosted the kick off meeting of the Streamlining Networking and Management efforts in Mediterranean Protected Areas for Enhanced Natural Conservation and Protection (PANACeA) project. The objectives of this meeting were to gather all participating partners belonging to the nine thematic projects focusing on biodiversity protection in the Mediterranean, and to set up a partnership and a work methodology in order to obtain the best results during the lifetime of the PANACeA project.

IUCN-Med contributed to the kick off meeting by presenting its three modular projects: Sustainable management of the systems Posidonia-beaches in the Mediterranean region (PosbeMED), Guiding Mediterranean MPAs through the climate change era: building resilience and adaptation (MPA-ADAPT), and Fisheries governance in Marine Protected Areas 2 (FISH MPA2).

IUCN-Med and IUCN WCPA were also part of the advisory board of the PANACEA project, which has a key role in assisting and guiding the actions needed and in gathering additional networks and institutions to influence regional relevant policies more effectively.

This meeting was collaborative, contained an initial analysis and suggested a methodology that will best benefit the modular projects to achieve further transferability of their results. Moreover, by bringing together all the partners, it offered the opportunity to explore the possibility of collaboration for future joint events, to exchange knowledge and to facilitate targeted and coordinated actions for natural resources protection. Its main conclusions consolidated the workflow among project partners and a common calendar of collaborative activities has been developed and will pave the way toward better project results.

PANACeA is a horizontal project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg Med Programme and coordinated by the European Topic Centre for Spatial Information and Analysis at the University of Malaga.

For more information: Mar Otero

Photo: PANACeA participants. © IUCN-Med