United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas SPANISH DOCUMENT AIMING AT THE IDENTIFICATION OF IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEM PROPERTIES AND ASSESSMENT OF ECOLOGICAL STATUS AND PRESSURES TO MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL BIODIVERSITY Núria Marbà Bordalba and Carlos M. Duarte Quesada September 2010 1 SPANISH DOCUMENT AIMING AT THE IDENTIFICATION OF IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEM PROPERTIES AND ASSESSMENT OF ECOLOGICAL STATUS AND PRESSURES TO MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL BIODIVERSITY Study required and financed by: Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat BP 337 1080 Tunis Cedex – Tunisie Responsible of the study: Núria Marbà Bordalba, Scientific Researcher CSIC, Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (UIB-CSIC) Carlos M. Duarte Quesada, Research Professor CSIC, Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (UIB-CSIC) In charge of the study: (if different consultants) Names, qualification and institutions of the other consultants Reference of the study : Contract RAC/SPA, nº 73-2009 With the participation of : Giacomo Tavecchia, Tenured Scientist CSIC, Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (UIB-CSIC) ___________________________________________________________________ This report should be quoted as: Marbà N., Duarte C.M. 2010. Spanish document aiming at the identification of Important ecosystem properties and assessment of ecological status and pressures to Mediterranean marine and coastal biodiversity. Contract RAC/SPA, N° 73-2009: 56 of pages. 2 SPANISH DOCUMENT AIMING AT THE IDENTIFICATION OF IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEM PROPERTIES AND ASSESSMENT OF ECOLOGICAL STATUS AND PRESSURES TO MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL BIODIVERSITY By Núria Marbà Bordalba and Carlos M. Duarte Quesada Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (CSIC-UIB) Carrer Miquel Marquès 21 07190 Esporles (Spain) September 2010 3 Contents Executive summary......................................................................................................5 Introduction note ..........................................................................................................8 List of Acronyms...........................................................................................................9 1. Reference documents and information consulted..................................................10 1.1. Documents provided by RAC/SPA and its international consultants...............10 1.2. National documents and publications identified and available ........................11 1.3. Other documents identified..............................................................................11 2. Marine and coastal ecosystem status ....................................................................12 2.1. Biological characteristics .................................................................................12 2.2. Habitat types....................................................................................................40 2.3. Conclusions and identification of gaps ............................................................42 3. Pressures and impacts...........................................................................................44 3.1. Biological disturbance......................................................................................44 3.2. Emerging issues ..............................................................................................45 4. Expert opinion on marine and coastal status and pressures and impacts on the marine and coastal biodiversity..................................................................................50 4.1. Marine and coastal status and pressures relevant for national marine and coastal areas ..........................................................................................................50 4.2. Critical impacts and effects on marine and coastal biodiversity ......................51 5. Expert opinion on related priority national needs ...................................................52 5.1. Needs ..............................................................................................................52 5.2. Urgent actions proposed .................................................................................53 6. Funding problems and opportunities......................................................................54 6.1. Regular national sources, potentially available ...............................................54 6.2. Other (private, public, partnership) sources ....................................................54 6.3. International funds, projects, programmes ......................................................54 7. Conclusions and recommendations .......................................................................56 Reference list .............................................................................................................58 4 Executive summary Availability and problems of actual information and knowledge Research on ecosystem properties and assessment of ecological status and pressures to Spanish Mediterranean marine and coastal biodiversity is rapidly growing, and results are published in scientific journals and reports of different organisations. Most available information describes the biodiversity and identifies pressures and impacts, although the knowledge of ecological status of Spanish Mediterranean biodiversity and key habitats is strongly biased towards ecosystems developing shallower than 40 m water depth due to technical and resource constrains to access to deep waters. Level and quality of national activities Several activities, including legislation, elaboration of plans and programmes, research, monitoring and training, assessing biodiversity, ecological status and pressures along the Spanish Mediterranean are being conducted. These have increased since implementation of the different European Directives and Strategies . Few of these activities, however, directly address vulnerability and impacts of climate change on marine and coastal biodiversity, but they are contributing to increase knowledge on, and to improve, conservation of marine coastal biodiversity. These activities mainly focus on coastal, including terrestrial and marine, areas, whereas very few target the deep and open sea. The fraction of coastal and marine area protected is insufficient to help marine biodiversity conservation along the Spanish Mediterranean. Similarly, several vulnerable marine species, ecosystems and habitats to global change are not yet taken into account in conservation plans. List critical issues and gaps in national marine /coastal areas The major pressures threatening the Spanish Mediterranean biodiversity are overfishing (including trawling), aquaculture, excessive inputs from land, global warming, biological invasions, coastal sprawl and pressures derived from recreational activities (mechanical damage from anchors, sewage and garbage emissions and sports and recreational fishing, as well as impacts derived from the construction and operation of recreational harbours). The critical habitats and areas most directly impacted by the pressures indicated above are seagrass meadows, mid-water (> 30 m) coralline habitats, deep-water corals and coastal lagoons and sheltered bays. Among fish stocks, yellow fin tuna populations are threatened by excessive catches, particularly since their use in aquaculture operations, which has added an additional burden to the, already high pressure from fisheries, and that has brought the stock to a state of concern. List priority needs and actions 5 Information about distribution and conservation status of vulnerable marine ecosystems, habitats and species along the Spanish Mediterranean is scarce. Efforts to fill this gap of knowledge are being conducted within the Natura 2000 Network. However, Natura 2000 Network only involves some vulnerable marine habitats and species. Information on the distribution and conservation status should be extended to all marine vulnerable habitats and species. At present, the low fraction of coastal and marine area and the few key and vulnerable marine ecosystems to pressures and impacts protected are insufficient to help marine biodiversity conservation along the Spanish Mediterranean. The number of marine protected areas and ecosystems should increase. Protection measures should involve participation of all coastal and marine related actors, and they should be designed and coordinated at basin scale. Conservation measures should extend towards preserving circalittoral and bathyal key habitats. Marine protected areas in open sea should be defined. Trawling fisheries are the major threat to conservation of circalittoral and bathyal key ecosystems and species. This activity should be regulated. Conservation of marine biodiversity helps climate change mitigation. Adaptive management of coastal ecosystems and marine biodiversity should be promoted, adjusting to their responses to the evolving impacts of climate change, as opposed to static regulation and management approaches that are not flexible enough to accommodate the dynamic situation of the Mediterranean marine ecosystem. Mitigation of climate change impacts Global Change, including Climate Change and the rest of changes the Earth System experiences as a result of rapid human population growth, threats the future of marine and coastal biodiversity. Reduction and mitigation of direct and diffusive anthropogenic impacts are crucial