The Ministry of the Environment, the Regional Activity Center of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) for Specially Protected Areas and Marine Biodiversity, the Coastal Protection Agency (APAL) and associations active in in the field of marine biodiversity signed, on Wednesday, in Tunis, four conventions under which financial support will be granted to initiatives for the preservation and restoration of ecosystems of national and regional importance (Mediterranean).
Tunisia has, it is recalled, 3 specially protected areas of Mediterranean importance (SPAMI) in this case: the national park of the islands of Zembra and Zembretta, the archipelago of the Kneiss islands and the archipelago of rocky islands of volcanic origin from Galite.
SPAMIs are sites targeted for the conservation of constituents of the biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea because they contain ecosystems specific to this sea and habitats linked to threatened species.
The conventions were signed on the occasion of “SPAMI Day”, a regional celebration of marine conservation and protected areas in the Mediterranean, established by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention at their COP 22 (Antalya, Türkiye, from December 7 to 10, 2021). It is officially celebrated on April 15 each year and involves every person and entity concerned with the protection of marine life in the Mediterranean.
The meeting on May 15 in Tunis, attended by representatives from 7 Mediterranean countries, made it possible to explore and discuss financing mechanisms for the sustainability and sustainable management of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MCPA) and Marine Areas. Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) in Tunisia.
The “SPAMI Day” event aims to promote the List of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI), in other words, exceptional marine areas, managed in an exemplary manner, and more broadly, to raise awareness of the ocean conservation.
This year’s theme is “effective management of SPAMIs”, this event also aims to promote and encourage all initiatives within the SPAMIs which contribute to the preservation and restoration of ecosystems and life in harmony with nature. nature.
It should be recalled that the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Center for Specially Protected Areas and Marine Biodiversity was established in 1985 within the framework of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment. and the Mediterranean coast. Its mission is to support the efforts of Mediterranean countries to conserve and sustainably manage threatened or endangered species as well as areas of particular natural or cultural value.
The list of SPAMIs, established in 2001 by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelon Convention, currently benefits 39 Mediterranean marine and coastal protected areas, including three in Tunisia.
