M2PA Grants its First Funding to Marine Protected Areas in the Maghreb

M2PA (The Association for the Sustainable Financing of Mediterranean MPAs) Grants its First Funding to Marine Protected Areas in the Maghreb.

At its second Forum on Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which is being held in Tangier from 28 November to 1 December 2016, the Association for the Sustainable Financing of Mediterranean MPAs (M2PA) has announced, via its President, Xavier Sticker, the granting of its first funding for marine protected areas in Morocco and Tunisia. This funding, totaling EUR 60,000, will help cover priority needs for the day-to-day management of these marine areas.

In Morocco, M2PA is granting EUR 30,000 to the NGO AGIR (Integrated Resource Management Association), which contributes to the sustainable management of the Al Hoceima National Park as part of a participatory project in association with the High Commissioner for Water and Forests and the Fight Against Desertification.

In Tunisia, M2PA is granting EUR 30,000 to the Coastal Protection and Development Agency (APAL) and the NGO Notre Grand Bleu, which have adopted a co-management approach to the protected marine and costal area of the Kuriat Islands.

In an initiative by France, Monaco, Tunisia and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, later joined by Morocco, Albania and four regional organizations, M2PA has set up a trust fund that has already received financial contributions from the Government of the Principality of Monaco and, more recently, new donors such as the Leonardo di Caprio Foundation, Basel Zoo and the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Its action is in line with the objectives of the Barcelona Convention on the environmental protection of the Mediterranean and the Convention on Biological Diversity, while drawing upon additional, innovative resources to finance the preservation of marine biodiversity.

At the Forum in Tangier, M2PA will hold its 3rd General Assembly. In particular, a program of action will be adopted for 2017 that will increase support for Mediterranean marine protected areas while encouraging contributions from public, private and multilateral donors.

PRESS RELEASE by Direction de la Communication