Initial Gap Analysis on Existing Measures Under The
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UNITED NATIONS UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG.408/5 UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME MEDITERRANEAN ACTION PLAN 11 May 2015 Original: English Twelfth Meeting of Focal Points for Specially Protected Areas Athens, Greece, 25-29 May 2015 Agenda item 8 : Implementation of the Ecosystem Approach to the management of human activities that may affect the Mediterranean marine and coastal environment in the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP)/Barcelona Convention (EcAp) 8.2. : Draft Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme Initial Gap Analysis on existing measures under the Barcelona Convention relevant to achieving or maintaining good environmental status of the Mediterranean Sea, in line with the Ecosystem Approach For environmental and economy reasons, this document is printed in a limited number and will not be distributed at the meeting. Delegates are kindly requested to bring their copies to meetings and not to request additional copies. UNEP/MAP RAC/SPA - Tunis, 2015 Note: The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of RAC/SPA and UNEP concerning the legal status of any State, Territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers or boundaries. © 2015 United Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 - 1080 Tunis Cedex - Tunisia E-mail: [email protected] The original version of this document was prepared by UNEP/MAP Secretariat in collaboration with Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) Index : Note from the Secretariat ..................................................................................................................... 1 I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 2 II. KEY ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES AND RISKS AFFECTING THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST AND SEA ............................................................................................ 3 III. THE UNEP/MAP/BARCELONA CONVENTION SYSTEM .............................................. 5 IV. ANALYSIS OF MEASURES AND GAPS .............................................................................. 8 1 Biodiversity and non-Indigenous Species ................................................................................ 8 1.1 Biodiversity .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Non-Indigenous Species .................................................................................................... 27 2. Pollution Assessment and Control and Marine Litter ......................................................... 35 2.1 SAP/MED .......................................................................................................................... 35 2.2 SAP/MED triggered national and regional measures on arrange of contaminants and sectors contributing to marine pollution ........................................................................................ 37 2.3 Key Gaps identified by the Secretariat in relation to pollution and litter .......................... 49 3. Coast and Hydrography related measures ............................................................................ 52 3.1 The ICZM Action Plan ...................................................................................................... 53 3.2 CAMP demonstration projects .......................................................................................... 56 3.3 MedPartnership activities in relation to coast and hydrography ....................................... 58 3.4 Key Gaps identified by the Secretariat in relation to coast and hydrography .................. 59 4. MSSD AND SCP: Horizontal measures relevant to EcAp targets...................................... 61 4.1 MSSD ................................................................................................................................ 61 4.2 SCP Action Plan ................................................................................................................ 62 4.3 Key Gaps identified by the Secretariat in relation to horizontal measures ........................ 63 V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .................................................................................. 65 Annex ‐I‐ LIST OF NATIONAL ACTION PLANS UNDER SAP/MED ......................................................... 79 Annex ‐II‐ LIST OF NATIONAL ACTION PLANS UNDER SAP/BIO .......................................................... 82 Annex –III‐ INITIATIVES/ PROGRAMMES, PROJECTS MAPPED RELEVANT TO ECAP TARGETS .......... 87 UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG.408/5 Page 1 Note from the Secretariat The following “Initial Gap Analysis on existing measures under the Barcelona Convention relevant to achieving or maintaining good environmental status of the Mediterranean Sea, in line with the Ecosystem Approach” (the Draft) follows up on the recommendation of the 4th Meeting of the EcAp Coordination Group in September 2014, to further develop the Draft, as well as on the comments, suggestions received by Contracting Parties and partners during and after the meeting. The aim of the Draft is to analyze how the current measures under the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (including Regional and National Action Plans) are addressing the regionally agreed EcAp Targets, with the overall aim of achieving the good environmental status of the Mediterranean. Furthermore, it aims to identify key implementation gaps and where possible new measures that would be necessary in order to achieve all EcAp Targets and to have a coherent EcAp Programme of Measures. In relation to biodiversity and non-indigenous species related measures, the Secretariat has identified some key gaps to achieve the relevant EcAp Targets, such as challenges of implementation, lack of common tools to implement the biodiversity related NAPs, insufficient level of management of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, missing Mediterranean biodiversity hot-spot map, no regional measure to control harmful effects of fish farming, scientific gaps regarding biodiversity, lack of funding for further development of MAMIAS in full. Key suggestions of the Secretariat based on the above initial analysis are: • Strengthen implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean Region (SAP BIO) and Biodiversity related Action Plans by a more detailed evaluation of the SAP BIO implementation and/or by creation of new biodiversity related NAPs in line with the EcAp targets and support their national implementation; • New regional-level measures to be developed in co-operation with GFCM to address over- fishing and aquaculture; • further update MAMIAS and strengthen country level implementation of the Strategy and of the related Action Plan, in line with the two guidance documents. The SPA/RAC Focal Points are welcomed to discuss the adequacy of these gaps identified, as well as to prioritize between them and further address the need of possible new measures (noting that any new measure should undertake first a socio-economic assessment and that based on the Secretariat’s initial analysis most of the gaps could be efficiently addressed by strengthened national implementation, specific projects targeting these gaps and/or inclusion of gap-addressing measures in already ongoing projects and in the work of UNEP/MAP). The aim is to reflect the recommendations, suggestions of the SPA/RAC Focal Points on this Draft in the Secretariat’s Gap Analysis on existing measures under the Barcelona Convention relevant to achieving or maintaining good environmental status of the Mediterranean Sea, in line with the Ecosystem Approach, which will be presented to the 5th EcAp Coordination Group Meeting in September 2015. UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG.408/5 Page 2 I. INTRODUCTION The aim of the current draft initial analysis is to follow-up on the decision of the Contracting Parties at their 18th Meeting (COP18), to conclude a gap analysis on existing measures under the Barcelona Convention1, relevant to achieving or maintaining good environmental status (GES) of the Mediterranean Sea, in line with the ecosystem approach (as set out in Decision IG 21/32, here in after referred to as EcAp Decision). This document, in line with the above, carries out an early state of play, initial assessment on how far existing measures, not necessarily designed with the Ecosystem Approach (EcAp) in mind are sufficient to reach the identified targets of EcAp, distinguishing between measures that are adopted and implemented and the ones that are adopted but not (fully) implemented yet. The scope of this draft initial gap analysis thus is to analyse measures under the Barcelona Convention/UNEP/MAP3 practice that follow the identified common indicators4 relevant targets (EcAp Targets) and the pressures these targets relate to. In line with the EcAp Decision, the Secretariat foresees the development of a more detailed gap analysis by mid-2015, based on (a) the guidance of the Contracting Parties on this current initial draft; and (b) on a further assessment of implementation status of the 2012-2013 submitted reports of the Contracting Parties. According to the EcAp Decision, need for new measures or strengthened