This year, the Natural Heritage Mission joined forces with the Natural Environment & Climate Change Agency (N.E.C.C.A.)* to celebrate the EMD In My Country with a workshop on “Governance solutions for Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas”.
The workshop was designed for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) managers, local and regional authorities, and in general, for organizations linked to MPAs.
It aimed to support and empower nature managers and other relevant stakeholders of MPAs, by introducing solutions, e.g. tools and strategies produced by projects – of the Interreg Euro-MED Natural Heritage Mission and other EU Programmes – which can be potentially used/adopted in the management of the respective areas to conserve marine biodiversity in a more efficient and innovative way.
Throughout the workshop, specific topics, like effective monitoring, seagrass restoration practices, toolkits on climate change adaptation, and governance tools assessing the effectiveness of MPAs, were discussed and showcased. In this line, Ms D. Petza (policy officer in NECCA), addressed in her opening speech the need for coordinated efforts towards ongoing development of the Integrated Monitoring Scheme in Greek MPAs (an innovative approach with focus to carry forward the knowledge acquired, paving the way for applications in future planning and management of Marine Protected Areas). Overall, the workshop was highly practical, focusing on demonstrating applied methodologies and tested solutions, while also sharing a wide range of capacity-building initiatives, informative guides, and training materials. The list of Interreg Euro-MED Natural Heritage Mission’s projects, other EU-funded projects, and respective representatives that participated in the workshop can be found here.
Upon completion of the workshop, participants were encouraged to share feedback and indicate their interest in specific tools and solutions relevant to their needs. As a next step, the Mission will lead a Mentorship program, tailored to capacitate the interested stakeholders in adopting the given tools and solutions with a focus to integrate these into future strategies for the effective management in the relevant field.
Our Mission’s participation in the European Maritime Day In My Country for the second consecutive year (2024, 2025) highlights the Mission’s alignment, contribution, and permanent support towards the ongoing International and European initiatives for the protection and restoration of the marine environment.
The list of EMD In My Country events for 2025, per date and per country, can be found in this link.
Agenda here.
Post-event summary here.
* As a central level authority of the National System of Governance of Protected Areas (PAs), N.E.C.C.A is charged with coordinating a series of actions, projects and procedures regarding the implementation of national policies set by the Ministry of Environment and Energy for the management of PAs in Greece, biodiversity conservation, promotion, and implementation of sustainable development actions and climate change mitigation.
