Coastal Development Pressures Seen as Major Threat to Mediterranean Coastal Zone by NGOs

TEL AVIV, Israel, February 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Coastal development pressures are seen as the major threat to Mediterranean coastal zones, according to a survey conducted by the EU-funded Mare Nostrum Project among 43 environmental organizations in 11 countries.

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Of the NGOs participating in the survey, 93 percent cited development pressures as the main risk to their own country's coast. This was followed by overfishing (84%), tourism pressures (81%), increased litter (81%), chemical pollution (65%) and coastal erosion (63%).

"The groundbreaking survey wishes to identify what environmental organizations see as the major threats to Mediterranean coastal zones," said Mare Nostrum project initiator and coordinator Prof. Rachelle Alterman from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. "Clearly, uncontrolled development is a serious problem across the entire Mediterranean Basin."

The survey, carried out by Mare Nostrum partner The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), is the first-ever organized effort to identify the main challenges and needs of civil society organizations with regard to the protection of the Mediterranean coast. Results were received from 43 organizations in Spain, France, Italy, Israel, Malta, Greece, Croatia, Albania, Cyprus, Slovenia and Monaco.

The survey was conducted as part of the Mare Nostrum Network Initiative, intended to serve as a support platform for civil society organizations involved in ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management) and conservation throughout the Mediterranean coast.

"The results show that most organizations wish to join the Mare Nostrum Network and engage in collaborative actions," said Andrea Monge, Mare Nostrum Network coordinator at SPNI. "These organizations stressed the importance of going beyond information sharing and working on capacity building, particularly with regards to community involvement, communications and fundraising."

Mare Nostrum wishes to form a network of active citizens, associations, NGOs and other civil society organizations committed to the protection of the Mediterranean coast.

About Mare Nostrum 

Mare Nostrum's objective is to explore new ways of protecting and managing the Mediterranean coastline within the existing international Barcelona Convention and its Protocol on Integrated Coastline Zone Management (ICZM). The project uniquely focuses on understanding the "implementation gap" between the ideals of the Barcelona Convention and realities on the ground. The outcomes of the project will include recommendations for legal and institutional tools which may be adopted to improve local practices from the local level, taking a "bottom-up" approach.

Mare Nostrum is one of the 95 projects funded by 2007-2013 ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. The project is of three years' duration and has a total budget of €4,319,592, 90% of which is financed by the programme.

For further information and to download the full report, visit http://www.marenostrumproject.eu.

Statement about the Programme  

The 2007-2013 ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme is a multilateral cross-border cooperation initiative funded by the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI). The programme's objective is to promote the sustainable and harmonious cooperation process at the Mediterranean Basin level by dealing with the common challenges and enhancing its endogenous potential. It finances cooperation projects as a contribution to the economic, social, environmental and cultural development of the Mediterranean region. The 14 countries participating in the programme are Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Syria (participation currently suspended) and Tunisia. The Joint Managing Authority (JMA) is the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (Italy). Official programme languages are Arabic, English and French (http://www.enpicbcmed.eu).

Contact: 

Dan Gerstenfeld
[email protected]
+972-52-3745989

SOURCE Mare Nostrum