Local involvement in climate change monitoring in the island of Lampedusa

Direct evidence of climate change is already being observed in the Mediterranean coast and in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). However, climate change is not explicitly incorporated in most management plans and information to assist MPAs decision making is limited and fragmented. The island of Lampedusa will host one of the training courses on monitoring protocols to empower MPA managers and local administration staff with knowledge on how to integrate climate change in MPA management plans.

This training workshop will be held from17-21 July and is organised by the Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area.

Technicians from the 5 marine protected areas from 3 countries (Croatia, France and Italy), including Pelagie Islands MPA, will be trained on several type of monitoring protocols, from temperature to mass mortality and visual census on indicator species. Fishermen and divers in the island of Lampedusa also are invited to participate in the discussions on how to improve observations related to climate change such as the occurrence of new species or mass mortality.

This capacity building event is one of the actions included in the MPA-ADAPT project whicn aims at developing collaborative and site-specific adaptation plans for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to enhance their resilience to climate change impacts. It also aims to incorporate vulnerability assessments and nature-based adaptation planning in the current management frameworks.

This MPA-ADAPT is an Interreg project co-financed by European Regional Development Fund, and led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). It involves seven other partners from the Mediterranean basin: the Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, Public Institution Brijuni National Park (Croatia), Marine Protected Area Pelagie Islands – Management Body Municipality of Lampedusa and Linosa (Italy), Consortium of Management of Portofino MPA (Italy), National Park of Port-Cros (France), and the Corsican Agency for Environment (France).

Further info about the project MPA-ADAPT, click here.