RESCOM
Strengthening the resilience of ecosystems in the Mediterranean
The RESCOM project: “Strengthening the resilience of ecosystems in the Mediterranean” began in the second half of 2023 and is scheduled to last 4 years.
It aims to promote the conservation and sustainable management of coastal, marine and island territories as well as wetlands and forests and to contribute to the preservation of this exceptional biodiversity, for the benefit of current and future communities.
It is implemented, with the beneficiary countries, by the Mediterranean Consortium for Biodiversity (CMB). This partnership work makes it possible to equip ourselves with common mechanisms and tools, in terms of capacity building, communication, and intervention in the most vulnerable natural areas. The RESCOM project is thus an opportunity to highlight a new collaborative approach, by combining the networks and know-how of each member of the Consortium (technical expertise, support for the process, etc.).
The French Global Environment Facility (FFEM) and the MAVA Foundation for Nature are the co-financiers of the project.
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CONTEXT
Natural ecosystems are degrading and disappearing at an alarming rate in the Mediterranean, subject to various anthropogenic pressures, despite efforts at local, national, regional and international levels to conserve biodiversity. This situation is exacerbated by the effects of climate change, already particularly marked in the region, which significantly affect ecosystems and populations. This combined degradation of biodiversity and livelihoods in the Mediterranean demonstrates that these challenges related to global changes (biodiversity extinction, climate change, human health and well-being) are intrinsically linked and must be addressed together.
This project, led by the Mediterranean Biodiversity Consortium, brings together six organizations with recognized expertise in the Mediterranean basin (MedWet, the PIM initiative, the AIFM, the Tour du Valat and IUCN-Med, the Conservatoire du Littoral) who signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2021.
In each beneficiary country, pilot sites have been defined:
- Pilot site in Morocco: The Khenifiss National Park (PNK) is located on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, at the mouth of the Oued Aoudri, between the cities of Tan-Tan and Tarfaya. The PNK covers an area of 180,000 hectares (ha). With 212 species listed, the PNK is one of the most representative areas of Moroccan avifauna, with more than two thirds of the species observed in Morocco.
- Pilot site in Tunisia: The Oued Ezzen National Park, covering an area of 6,700 ha, was officially created in 2010 and includes an arboretum and two nature reserves: the Dar Fatma wetland (15.7 ha; RAMSAR area since 2007) composed of 5 peat bogs and the Aïn Zana Nature Reserve (47 ha) with the rare species of afares oak (Quercus afares P.), a species endemic to northwestern Tunisia and northeastern Algeria.
- Pilot site in Turkey: Patara Special Environmental Protection Area is a unique archaeological site of global importance and a protected natural site that includes coastal forest, wetlands, dunes and an important nesting beach for the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta L.). The river and wetland systems of Patara have created the most important and extensive dune ecosystem on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
- Pilot site in Albania: Divjaka-Karavasta National Park is best known for its birdlife. The site is home to approximately 260 bird species, of which over 85 are listed in Annex 1 of the European Union Birds Directive and 15 species are of special concern globally. The area is home to the only breeding colony of Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus crispus B.) in Albania, with approximately 85 breeding pairs.
- Pilot site in Montenegro: The Tivatska Solila Special Nature Reserve is part of the buffer zone of the Kotor Natural and Historical Region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. It is home to numerous species of flora and fauna: a salamander and 4 plants endemic to the Balkan Peninsula; 16 endemic insects and 2 insects protected at European level; 18 vascular plants protected at national level; 12 in CITES; 146 plants on the global Red List; One European or Mediterranean flora in Annex I of the Bern Convention; one species of mushroom is protected at national level and is on the Red List of Threatened Fungi in Europe.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of the project is to strengthen the social and environmental resilience of vulnerable natural areas in the Mediterranean (sea, coasts, forests, small islands and wetlands) in order to address the social and economic challenges related to them, through the implementation of nature-based solutions (NbS) and a more integrated and participatory approach. The project aims to restore and improve the ecological functioning and services provided by various ecosystems, by supporting and involving local stakeholders and populations through awareness-raising activities, training and technical or institutional support (to promote sustainable biodiversity management). This will be reflected in innovative mechanisms to address these challenges through a more integrated approach to biodiversity conservation, both multi-partner and multi-biomes, which should contribute to better cohabitation between ecosystems and populations.
The project will intervene at different scales, different levels (strategic, political and operational) and with different categories of actors (policy makers, civil society organizations, etc.).
It is structured in four components:
COMPONENT 1 (CP1): Development and implementation of a regional capacity building programme, based on nature-based adaptation and resilience development solutions.
COMPONENT 2 (CP2): Establishment of mechanisms enabling the CMB to act at different levels (local, national, regional) to promote the appropriation and implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in the Mediterranean.
COMPONENT 3 (CP3): Design and implementation of NbS in pilot territories in cooperation with national and local stakeholders.
COMPONENT 4 (CP4): Coordination, management and sustainability of the project.
PARTNERSHIP
The StrategyMedFor project brings together the 7 partners of the Mediterranean Consortium for Biodiversity
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