The State of the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment

The Mediterranean countries have for long been aware of the need to take action in order to palliate the degradation of Mediterranean marine and coastal ecosystems and have designed a multitude of sectorial or integrated policy instruments within different frameworks. In the context of the Barcelona convention, the application of the Ecosystem Approach represents a renewed emphasis on implementation and integration that will strengthen the ability to understand and address cumulative risks and effects as well as to better focus action on priority targets. Simply put, the Ecosystem Approach brings MAP’s many sectorial analyses and management measures into a single integrated framework which will result in an adaptive management strategy that will be periodically monitored, evaluated and revised through six-year management cycles.

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STATE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENT