FORWARD
Dear Colleagues,
The United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan – Specially Protected Areas Regional
Activity Centre (UNEP/MAP – SPA/RAC) – Barcelona Convention has initiated since year 2000 a series of
scientific symposia, dedicated to key habitats and NIS by organising the first Mediterranean Symposium on
Marine vegetation. This initiative while aiming essentially to take stock of the recently available scientific data
and to promote the cooperation between specialists and key actors working in the Mediterranean, has evolved
since then to cover now Coralligenous, Dark Habibtats and Non-Indigenous species as well.
These symposia have been initiated as implementation of the UNEP/MAP regional action plans related to (i)
the Conservation of Marine Vegetation in the Mediterranean Sea (adopted by the Contracting Parties to the
Barcelona Convention in 1999 and updated in 2012), (ii) the Conservation of Coralligenous and other
calcareous bio-concretions of Mediterranean (adopted by the Contracting Parties to Barcelona Convention
in 20018 and updated in 2016), (iii) the conservation of habitats and species associated with seamounts,
underwater caves and canyons, aphotic hard beds and chemo-synthetic phenomena in the Mediterranean
Sea (Action Plan for Dark Habitats adopted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention in 2013),
and (iv) the Action Plan concerning Species Introduction and Invasive Species (Adopted by the Contracting
Parties to the Barcelona Convention in 2003 and updated in 2016).
The “Mediterranean Symposia on Marine Key Habitats and NIS” are an important output, not only of the
UNEP/MAP Medium-Term Strategy for the period 2022-2027 (Decision IG.525/1), but also for NTZ/MPA
project “Empowering the legacy: scaling up co-managed and financially sustainable No-Take Zones / Marine
Protected Areas”, financed by MAVA foundation under its Mediterranean Strategy and by the EU-funded
IMAP-MPA project “Towards achieving the Good Environmental Status of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast
through an Ecologically Representative and Efficiently Managed and Monitored Network of Marine Protected
Areas” .
For more than two decades, the symposia have provided, within the framework of the MAP Barcelona
Convention, a platform for dialogue between the scientific community, managers, and decision makers.
This year, SPA/RAC in collaboration with the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research
(ISPRA), the university of Genoa and its Department of Earth, the Environment and Life Sciences of the
University of Genoa (DISTAV) and the association “Società Italiana di Biologia Marina” (SIBM), organized
a new edition of the Mediterranean Symposia in Genoa, from 19 to 23 September 2022, as follows:
7
th
Mediterranean Symposium on Marine Vegetation (19-20 September 2022)
4
th
Mediterranean Symposium on the conservation of coralligenous and other calcareous bioconcretions (20-21 September 2022)
3
rd
Mediterranean Symposium on the conservation of dark habitats (21-22 September 2022)
2
nd
Mediterranean Symposium on the non-indigenous Species (22-23 September 2022)
This edition was also a good opportunity to discuss new topics such as monitoring and definition of Good
Environmental Status (GES), monitoring and assessment scale in the Mediterranean and, in this way, contribute
to enhancing Science-Policy interface and to strengthening links and cooperation between SPA/RAC and
Barcelona Convention system and scientists and scientific institutions in the Mediterranean.
Khalil ATTIA
SPA/RAC Director
Tatjana Hema
UNEP/MAP Coordinator
Dear Colleagues,
The United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan – Specially Protected Areas Regional
Activity Centre (UNEP/MAP – SPA/RAC) – Barcelona Convention has initiated since year 2000 a series of
scientific symposia, dedicated to key habitats and NIS by organising the first Mediterranean Symposium on
Marine vegetation. This initiative while aiming essentially to take stock of the recently available scientific data
and to promote the cooperation between specialists and key actors working in the Mediterranean, has evolved
since then to cover now Coralligenous, Dark Habibtats and Non-Indigenous species as well.
These symposia have been initiated as implementation of the UNEP/MAP regional action plans related to (i)
the Conservation of Marine Vegetation in the Mediterranean Sea (adopted by the Contracting Parties to the
Barcelona Convention in 1999 and updated in 2012), (ii) the Conservation of Coralligenous and other
calcareous bio-concretions of Mediterranean (adopted by the Contracting Parties to Barcelona Convention
in 20018 and updated in 2016), (iii) the conservation of habitats and species associated with seamounts,
underwater caves and canyons, aphotic hard beds and chemo-synthetic phenomena in the Mediterranean
Sea (Action Plan for Dark Habitats adopted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention in 2013),
and (iv) the Action Plan concerning Species Introduction and Invasive Species (Adopted by the Contracting
Parties to the Barcelona Convention in 2003 and updated in 2016).
The “Mediterranean Symposia on Marine Key Habitats and NIS” are an important output, not only of the
UNEP/MAP Medium-Term Strategy for the period 2022-2027 (Decision IG.525/1), but also for NTZ/MPA
project “Empowering the legacy: scaling up co-managed and financially sustainable No-Take Zones / Marine
Protected Areas”, financed by MAVA foundation under its Mediterranean Strategy and by the EU-funded
IMAP-MPA project “Towards achieving the Good Environmental Status of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast
through an Ecologically Representative and Efficiently Managed and Monitored Network of Marine Protected
Areas” .
For more than two decades, the symposia have provided, within the framework of the MAP Barcelona
Convention, a platform for dialogue between the scientific community, managers, and decision makers.
This year, SPA/RAC in collaboration with the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research
(ISPRA), the university of Genoa and its Department of Earth, the Environment and Life Sciences of the
University of Genoa (DISTAV) and the association “Società Italiana di Biologia Marina” (SIBM), organized
a new edition of the Mediterranean Symposia in Genoa, from 19 to 23 September 2022, as follows:
7
th
Mediterranean Symposium on Marine Vegetation (19-20 September 2022)
4
th
Mediterranean Symposium on the conservation of coralligenous and other calcareous bioconcretions (20-21 September 2022)
3
rd
Mediterranean Symposium on the conservation of dark habitats (21-22 September 2022)
2
nd
Mediterranean Symposium on the non-indigenous Species (22-23 September 2022)
This edition was also a good opportunity to discuss new topics such as monitoring and definition of Good
Environmental Status (GES), monitoring and assessment scale in the Mediterranean and, in this way, contribute
to enhancing Science-Policy interface and to strengthening links and cooperation between SPA/RAC and
Barcelona Convention system and scientists and scientific institutions in the Mediterranean.
Khalil ATTIA
SPA/RAC Director
Tatjana Hema
UNEP/MAP Coordinator