Participants of the WWF Blue School during a field visit to the Palamós harbour, Spain © WWF-ATW for a living planet R A i VOL 7 NO 2, FEB / MARCH 2007 Posidonia, the WWF Mediterranean newsletter for the community of environmental organizations in the Mediterranean. WWF UPDATE WWF Blue School: Mediterranean fisheries Rural development in Mount Lebanon Training visit in the Middle Atlas, Morocco Progress in the Dinaric Arc DON WWF PRESS Bluefin tuna: on the brink i Slovenia to embark on massive bear hunt Morocco to eliminate driftnet fishing EU’s sustainable energy future UPDATE FROM NGOs Fishing tourism on the Catalan coast Marine stewardship in Catalonia FSC exchange visit Montenegrin NGOs meet with parliament Deconstruction in El Cap de Creus Announcements POS WWF update: Information WWF BLUE SCHOOL – MEDITERRANEAN FISHERIES The latest WWF Mediterranean of Palamós where they met training course took place in the president of the Palamós Sitges, Spain last March. The Fishermen’s Association. At Blue School – Mediterranean the end of the workshop the Fisheries: Linking Ecosystem- participants wrote a manifesto Based Management and on Education for Sustainable Education – brought together Fisheries in the Mediterranean 22 participants and lecturers to express their main from Mediterranean NGOs and concerns, priorities, and institutions to discuss education objectives. for sustainability, environmental The Education for Sustainable education in marine conservation Fisheries in the Mediterranean and its integration in formal manifesto is open to other training programmes for institutions and organizations. The WWF Mediterranean/Across the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION fishermen. Trainees visited Waters training course, Blue School, Montse Suàrez Associació Nereo, a Catalan was supported by the Government Capacity Building Assistant NGO which manages a marine of Catalonia and the Diputació de WWF Mediterranean Barcelona. [email protected] reserve, and the fishing museum RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN MOUNT LEBANON A study of forests on Mount the women’s association, Lebanon, carried out by NGO beekeepers cooperatives and AFDC in 2005, has shown that AFDC local units. They aim to the loss of forest cover due to fire help local communities through is severely affecting livelihoods new and revived nature-based and quality of life in the area. economic activities. The Towards the sustainable production and marketing of management of these forests grape by-products, for example, AFDC recently began a project is an area of great potential. with WWF Mediterranean. Central Environmental education and to the project is the participation awareness programmes for of local communities in two pilot local communities on firefighting, sites, each located in a valuable forest restoration, non-timber and vulnerable forest landscape forest products and eco-tourism – Ramlieh, Aley District and will also be a priority for the Qornayel Ras El Maten, Maten project. district. The project team will FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Funded by.the Gsell Foundation Marco Pagliani undertake reforestation activities and AFDC – Association for Forests, Head of Programme Development WWF Mediterranean in each area, working with local Development and Conservation. [email protected] people, village municipalities, Grape vine, Ramlieh village, Lebanon (c) WWF-Canon / M. GUNTHER WWF update: Information TRAINING VISIT IN THE MIDDLE ATLAS, MOROCCO A two-day training visit to pilot nursery of Béni Sohane, forest restoration sites where a greenhouse for the developed by WWF in the production of autochthonous Middle Atlas mountains was species was set up by WWF organized for beneficiaries in 2004. Finally they visited from the Rif mountains last the honey production March. Personnel from the cooperative of Bouyablane at Station Régionale des Ribat El kheir, to observe how Semences took part. They the healthy composition of were joined by the local project forest species allows for good team and representatives of quality products to be Municipalities and local harvested and marketed in development associations of the region. the areas involved in restoration This visit was organised in the work in the Chefchaouen framework of the project Sustainable region. The visit began at the Management of Natural Resources Institut National des Plantes for the benefit of the population of the Laou river in Morocco funded Médicinales et Aromatiques of by the Agencia Española de Taounate, a new national centre Cooperación Internacional (AECI) devoted to the study and the and the WWF Cork oak Landscapes Programme funded by WWF UK. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION production of aromatic and Alessandro Badalotti medicinal plants. Participants Forest Projects Coordinator WWF Mediterranean made two stops in the Sefrou [email protected] Province, first at the tree PROGRESS IN THE DINARIC ARC The Dinaric Arc Initiative (DAI) Albania and Montenegro recently celebrated its second signed in the coming months. birthday with a very satisfactory DAI partners are also record of achievements. Since engaged in developing the its foundation, DAI has added initiative’s first joint field value to the work and project: The territorial programmes of its partner management of Karst Poljes institutions, and has been the — the case of Livanjsko and framework for the development Sinjsko Polje. The aim is to of new, joint programmes. One conserve the outstanding of the most successful of these natural and cultural heritage has concerned the protection of some of the world’s most and management of lake important karst habitats, Skadar/Shkodra, an exceptional promoting rural development territory, unique in Europe. At a and the equitable sharing of meeting in Rome last March resources. partners shared information on DAI partners met in Rome on 26- ongoing work in Skadar/ 27 March. WWF, UNESCO-BRESCE, Shkodra and agreed upon next UNDP Montenegro, Council of steps for the setting up of a Europe, REC Albania, Euronatur, SNV, IUCN-SEE and FAO attended FOR FURTHER INFORMATION transboundary management the meeting. Marco Pagliani commission for the lake. An Head of Programme Development initiative is already underway to WWF Mediterranean [email protected] have an agreement between WWF update: Press BLUEFIN TUNA: ON THE BRINK With the 2007 fishing season asking wholesalers and for Mediterranean bluefin tuna retailers to support the call on about to begin, WWF is asking the EU, and for those EU members to cut their quota companies dealing in to preserve the stock. This Mediterranean bluefin tuna to would help reduce the threat of take the responsible decision collapse and encourage other not to purchase from fishing nations to follow suit. In countries that refuse to halve a new briefing, On the Brink: their quotas. Mediterranean bluefin tuna – ICCAT — the International the consequences of collapse, Commission for the Conservation WWF shows that ICCAT has of Atlantic Tunas — is the body allowed the quota for 2007 to charged with managing tuna fishery. WWF is calling on the EU increase in defiance of its own Fisheries Council (meeting April) scientists. The EU is to halve the quotas it allocates, responsible for the bulk of the close the fishery in June to protect the peak spawning month, and stay total quota, with France, Spain out of Libyan waters, which are and Italy taking the majority of unregulated and offer the last the catch. Traditional tuna refuge for the breeding fish. fishers will suffer the most from Meanwhile a new international FOR FURTHER INFORMATION the stock’s collapse, while Panda Passport action has been Gemma Parkes large fleets will move on and launched to save Mediterranean Communications Officer tuna: www.passport.panda.org/ WWF Mediterranean plunder a different ocean and a campaigns [email protected] different species. WWF is SLOVENIA TO EMBARK ON MASSIVE BEAR HUNT Although one of the first year, which is unscientific and European countries to protect unsustainable. Slovenia, which the brown bear, Slovenia may will take over the EU increase hunting quotas for presidency in early 2008, brown bears, an act that could should use this opportunity to decimate the country’s entire apply the EU guidelines on population. The Slovenian managing large carnivores. government has allowed a These guidelines require a hunting quota of 106 bears in population-based type of 2007. Added to the number of management, urging countries bears killed each year on roads to cooperate internationally and railway lines, and the and to perform transparent mortality rate jumps to as high population estimates. A final as 130 individuals. The decision from the Slovenian Slovenian government claims Environment Ministry as to there are 500–700 bears in the whether the hunt will go ahead country. Based on reliable local is expected. information, WWF believes a Read more on lower estimate is more realistic, www.panda.org/mediterranean FOR FURTHER INFORMATION and has asked for clarification Joanna Benn of the population size and the Communications Manager justification for an official WWF Global Species Programme [email protected] hunting quota of over 20% per WWF update: Press MOROCCO TO ELIMINATE DRIFTNET FISHING King Mohammed VI of Morocco indiscriminate and wasteful has put his signature to an fishing method is estimated to kill agreement which will subsidise about 3,600 dolphins and 23,000 the phasing out of driftnets in sharks per year in the south- Moroccan waters. Under the western part of the new EU-Morocco Fisheries Mediterranean