IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation

This book, in English, French and Spanish, provides an overview of the Mediterranean forest conservation and management challenges posed by climate change. It addresses relevant issues, like forests’ vulnerability to climate change and past climate change responses which may guide future policies and actions.

This book includes a set of strategic guidelines and key conservation and development issues for the Mediterranean mountains, grouped into eight priority themes, as a starting point towards the elaboration of action plans for the Mediterranean mountain chains.The book contents are based on the outputs of the rich debate that emerged from case studies and experiences debated by regional experts in a regional workshop which took place in Malaga (Spain) on 10-12 December 2007.

The main aim of this report is to assess progress towards a network of ecologically representative and effectively managed MPAs that meets international obligations for conservation of the Mediterranean Sea. Specifically, results of this survey were used to measure Mediterranean progress towards the CBD targets of establishing a coherent network of MPAs by 2012 and to protect at least 10% of the Mediterranean Sea by 2010.

With the highest percentage of threatened sharks and rays in the world, the Mediterranean region is in need of regional planning and policy development for the conservation and sustainable management of chondrichthyan fishes. This third report in the series of Mediterranean Red List Assessments presents the findings of an expert workshop at which 71 Mediterranean species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (cartilaginous fishes) were assessed using the IUCN Red List categories and criteria.

Aquaculture currently faces a significant challenge: how to fulfill the expectation of alleviating the pressure that fishing fleets exercise on fish populations without leading to environmental problems. It is particularly expected to develop widely in the near future in the Mediterranean’s European, Southern and Eastern countries.

This publication is the annual report of the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation. It highlights the relevance of IUCN’s work and the critical importance of this programme in the Mediterranean, as well as IUCN’s long-term commitment to supporting countries and members in the region in initiatives to achieve the UN Millennium Goals.

The Mediterranean-rim countries hold around 400 million people and 135 million of them live on the coast. A steady migration towards coastal areas, specifically in the south and east of the Mediterranean, is causing pressure on the coastal environment and, more importantly, on its biodiversity. In this second Mediterranean regional assessment, all the reptile and amphibian species existing within the region of study have been evaluated for their global conservation status.

The Mediterranean-rim countries hold around 400 million people and 135 million of them live on the coast. A steady migration towards coastal areas, specifically in the south and east of the Mediterranean, is causing pressure on the coastal environment and, more importantly, on its biodiversity. In this second Mediterranean regional assessment, all the reptile and amphibian species existing within the region of study have been evaluated for their global conservation status.

Aquaculture currently faces a significant challenge: how to fulfill the expectation of alleviating the pressure that fishing fleets exercise on fish populations without leading to environmental problems. It is particularly expected to develop widely in the near future in the Mediterranean’s European, Southern and Eastern countries.

In the Mediterranean region alone, there are more than 4400 protected areas, of which 67% have been assigned an IUCN category. This publication analyses the use and interpretation of the different protected areas categories in the Mediterranean, gathers the ideas and proposals of agencies and other key stakeholders in the Mediterranean region, and includes the results of the IUCN International Summit in Almeria.