Protecting Marine Protected Areas in the South Pacific
During a visit to the South Pacific, the FGEF described experiences in the protection of Marine Protected Areas to local specialists in environmental and sustainability issues.
Visits were made to several countries in the region that are partnering the international CRISP programme for management and lasting protection of coral reefs in the South Pacific, to assess progress in programme components financed by the FGEF.
Marine Protected Areas and trust funds for biodiversity
During his mission, Julien Calas, a biodiversity specialist with the FGEF, described the results of a study to capitalise on experience in protecting Marine Protected Areas, and a study on trust funds for long-term biodiversity financing, to an audience of local environmental stakeholders and the press.
He described the goals of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and how they can accompany economic development in the surrounding region. MPAs are areas in which all those concerned by marine resource use agree to manage them jointly in the interests of sustainability.
The starting point for establishing MPAs, highlighting the services rendered by these ecosystems, are the pressures or unsustainable activities that affect resource conservation. The Caledonian barrier reef, for example, an outstanding tourist asset, protects coastlines from storm and cyclone swells that would otherwise have devastating impacts.
The CRISP programme
The FGEF has been contributing to the CRISP programme since 2004, together with the AFD and MAEE. CRISP is a French initiative aiming to protect biodiversity in the coral reefs of the South Pacific and to manage them sustainably in order to foster development in small island nations.
The FGEF is providing particular support to the development of Marine Protected Areas and to efforts to control catchment basin erosion to prevent the asphyxiation of coral reefs by sediments.
Presse / Médias
Journal de RFO en Nouvelle Calédonie (Minute 07:05 - interview de J. Calas)
Les Nouvelles-Calédoniennes
En savoir plus
Conférence sur les Aires Marines Protégées - 17 novembre 2009 : ici
Conférence sur les Fonds fiduciaires innovants pour la biodiversité - 19 novembre 2009 : ici
Fiche Projet
Site du Programme CRISP
www.crisponline.net
