Subject: MPA4Change Newsletter is out! - Climate change adaptation in Marine Protected Areas

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Interreg Euro-MED MPA4Change

Newsletter #1

July 2024

Underwater sea caves in Cavo Greco MPA, Cyprus - Photo by Irini Valanto Papageorgiou

Marine Protected Areas at the forefront of climate change adaptation

Dear EUROPARC member,

Welcome to the first newsletter of the project MPA4Change, our latest commitment to enhance the role of Marine Protected Areas and restoration as nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. Keep on reading to learn how this project, funded by the Interreg Euro-MED programme and in which EUROPARC plays a pivotal role in policy and advocacy as well as on communications, supports Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) with incorporating climate change adaptation measures into their management plans.

This newsletter is the first of a series of four, which will be published every six months along with the MPA4Change project implementation. Our goal? Get 100 MPAs to integrate climate change adaptation strategies into their management plans by 2030. In our newsletters, you will be able to follow along to see how we are progressing and stay up to date with the project's developments.

Additionally, you will find information on the institutions that are behind this initiative, stories and expertise as well as useful resources to start, or continue with, the adaptation process. In this first newsletter, we want to showcase three project partners that, due to their expertise and mentorship skills, are a cornerstone of this project, as well as reference organisations on this matter in the Mediterranean basin.

Finally, we encourage you to stay curious, keep researching and learning about climate change and why adaptation is crucial to build a sustainable future. Likewise, if your work is aligned with the management of an MPA or environmental policy, don't hesitate to tell us about your interest to join this group of MPAs that will stand at the forefront of climate change adaptation.

Do you want to receive the next three newsletters that are part of this series? Then be sure to register to our mailing list in order to continue receiving MPA4Change news and updates!

Happy readings,

The MPA4Change team.

Get to know our partners

Divers at work - Photo by EUROPARC Federation

Learn about some of the partner organisations that integrate MPA4Change.

Spanish Research Council - Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM), Spain

The Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) is one of the research centres of the Spanish National Research Council State Agency (CSIC), the largest public research organisation in the country, and it is the Lead Partner organisation of the MPA4Change project. The ICM has 20-years of experience in promoting the role of MPAs for climate change adaptation and marine restoration in the Mediterranean region.

Additionally, this institute has developed and transferred several monitoring toolkits at Mediterranean level through collaborative networks engaging MPA managers and research teams, and launched different initiatives for climate change monitoring, such as the marine citizen science platforms (Observadores del Mar) and the T-MEDNet platform, portrayed below in this newsletter.

Portofino Marine Protected Area, Italy

The Portofino MPA is located in northern Italy, in the region of Liguria, and is managed by a consortium of public entities. Portofino MPA surrounds a rocky promontory that, thanks to its morphology, allows the presence of rich coralligenous habitats and seagrass meadows with many fish species of great size. With its 346 hectares, it is the smallest Italian MPA. Nonetheless, it has a great number of stakeholders like divers, fishermen and boaters, whose activities represent a management challenge.

As such, Portofino counts with a well-established management plan and, since 2015, the climate change effects are being monitored in this MPA in order to develop and implement adaptation measures together with participatory approaches to involve stakeholders.

Furthermore, Portofino management team has sound experience in international restoration programmes of key species for shallow rocky benthic habitats. For all these reasons, the MPA is often invited to share its experience and contribute to the development of policies on climate change.

Brijuni Ntional Park, Croatia

The Public Institution Brijuni National Park manages the park of the same name. It extends across 14 islands and islets in the western coast of Istria, Croatia. In recent years, Brijuni has developed a plan for climate change adaptation and mitigation by integrating 15 measures validated through a participatory process in the management plan of the institution.

The National Park has also tested a brand-new Citizen Science programme taking into account ecosystem-based management approaches. Thanks to this experience, Brijuni has gained recognition at national and regional level and often acts as a reference MPA from Croatia and other Adriatic countries.

Additionally, the National Park's staff has extensive experience in education and awareness-raising activities. They promote the cultural and historical heritage of archaeological sites, the rich flora and fauna, and the geological and palaeontological heritage. They emphasise the need to mitigate climate change to preserve these values.

Featured resources

Kids educational workshop in Brijuni NP - Photo by Nino Fanuko

Find resources* to assist you in monitoring climate change effects and raising awareness on the importance of adaptation.

* These resources were developed in the previous initiatives that led to MPA4Change project.

Climate change monitoring

T-MEDNet

Launched by the ICM in 2009, this platform is dedicated to track climate change impacts in the Mediterranean and provides full access to monitoring toolkits, data management and visualisation tools.

Visit web

Observadores del Mar

A pioneering marine citizen science platform dedicated to marine conservation, also launched by the ICM in 2012. It currently houses 17 projects and has 523 organisations involved.

Visit web

Education & Communication

Climate change for Kids - Marine Protected Areas

An animated cartoon, with English voice over that can help educators in teaching about climate change. It portrays the life of a shag in Brijuni National Park, who one morning finds out how climate change, together with anthropogenic impacts, has led to changes in the marine environment.

Watch in English

Boiling Mediterranean

This booklet was produced by the Italian National Research Council (CNR), one of MPA4Change partners, and provides a visual guide on climate change impacts covering key facts through compelling illustrations.

Download in English

Marine Protected Areas facing climate change

This documentary provides an overview of the dramatical changes induced by climate change and anthropogenic impacts, and presents a series of solutions to foster adaptation.

Watch in English

Io, Mediterraneo

This documentary on the effect of climate change in the Mediterranean sea, Portofino MPA, and the role that MPAs play as sentinels and laboratories for climate change. The voice-over is in Italian language, performed by the famous actor Remo Girone, with English captions available.

Watch in Italian (EN subs)

Project news

Female Mediterranean parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense) - Photo by Giovanni Ombrello

Take a look to the news articles published in the framework of MPA4Change during the first semester of 2024.

MPA4Change at the Ocean Decade Conference 2024, Barcelona

MPA4Change was presented at the MPA Forum, a satellite event organised in the framework of the UNESCO Ocean Decade Conference 2024 in Barcelona. Full article

Fishermen and divers to monitor climate change at Portofino Marine Protected Area, Italy

MPAs are established with the main purpose of protecting and preserving habitats and species. To achieve this goal, managing human activities and involving stakeholders is essential. Discover how divers and fishermen are contributing to the monitoring of climate change effects in this MPA. Full article

Training on monitoring protocols In Cavo Greco Marine Protected Area, Cyprus

As part of its efforts to enhance the resilience of Mediterranean MPAs to climate change, the project visited Cyprus to provide specialised training and mentorship. The hosting organisation, AP Marine Ltd, is now ready to implement climate resilience protocols, contributing to ongoing marine protection and sustainability efforts. Full article

Fine-tuning of tools for marine protection: a Vulnerability Assessment toolkit from Future Oceans Lab, Spain

The Future Oceans Lab-CIM at the University of Vigo, Spain, is working on an innovative methodology to evaluate the impact of Nature-based Solutions on mitigating climate risks. This methodology is accessible through a Shiny app and it will be incorporated into the set of MPA4Change toolkits for climate change adaptation. Full article

DAN Europe’s support to climate change adaptation in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas

DAN Europe spearheads efforts in the MPA4Change project, leveraging citizen science and diving safety expertise to boost the resilience of Mediterranean MPAs against climate change. Full article

Towards a new Fish Visual Census to assess climate change indicators in the Atlantic Ocean

In the framework of the project MPA4Change, a list of Atlantic indigenous and non-indigenous fish species will be soon defined as candidate indicators of climate change. Full article

What´s next?

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), Cyprus - Photo by Irini Valanto Papageorgiou

Get an insight on the next project developments.

During this second half of the year, we are focussed on releasing a fine-tuned version of the tools that are the core of our work: the climate change adaptation toolkits.

Built on previous Interreg Euro-MED initiatives to support MPAs in the adaptation process, these toolkits are a series of protocols and guidance focused on areas such as effective management, vulnerability assessment, participation and climate change monitoring, among others.

Additionally, we will continue training MPAs involved in the project on using these protocols and incorporate them into a capacity-building programme. This programme will include external MPAs and extend training beyond the project's boundaries.

To connect policy and practice, we will also advocate for the inclusion of climate change adaptation plans into specific policy regulations and strategies concerning MPAs in the Mediterranean region. We will devote the next months to produce a policy core document that will serve as a basis to carry out this advocacy work and present it at relevant events that will take place before the year ends.

Finally, we are taking steps forward to engage 100 MPAs in integrating the climate change toolkits into their management plans by 2030. To achieve such a task, we will be soon launching an awareness campaign with the objective of getting the necessary support from relevant organisations as well as the involvement of MPAs that want to up-take the solutions offered by MPA4Change. Are you ready to get involved?

Stay tuned by registering to our newsletter, if you haven't done so yet, and visit the MPA4Change website to learn more on how to engage in climate change adaptation!

Visit MPA4Change website

For any questions or comments, please contact MPA4Change Communication team: mpa4change@interreg-euro-med.eu