Supporting the integrated and sustainable management of coastal territories, islands and marine areas and MPAs in the Mediterranean (COGITO)

A hotspot for global biodiversity, the Mediterranean is one of the most threatened seas on the planet. The region’s demographic and economic concentration, its appeal to tourists, its economic, political and social crises and climate change all generate pollution and exert significant pressures on its natural resources and marine and coastal ecosystems.
The Mediterranean basin’s exceptional flora includes some 15,000 - 25,000 species, 60% of which are unique to the region. Almost one-third of Mediterranean fauna is endemic: 1,912 species of amphibians, birds, cartilaginous fish, freshwater fish, crabs and crayfish, mammals, odonates and reptiles - this exceptional biological wealth includes 19% of species under threat of extinction.

The project comprises four elements:

• Consolidating and supporting pilot initiatives for the co-management of coastal island and marine regions: at local scale, in protected marine and coastal areas of the Mediterranean the project supports concrete actions to promote coordinated management of these regions, develop sustainable fishing and tourism, and diversify sources of financing.
• Strengthening the capabilities of institutions and of site managers and their partners: a programme of operational training aimed at decision-makers, managers and their partners enables skill-building for greater regional site management and to underpin the necessary institutional and policy change.
• Advocating for awareness-raising on integrated co-management of these regions: the project is the local voice of protected areas in the Mediterranean so it makes sure that international bodies remain informed of the environmental challenges facing those countries bordering the Mediterranean. 
• Developing and valorising scientific knowledge in the service of management and policy: to contribute to effective management and fact-based decision-making, the project is pursuing and developing the integration and dissemination of scientific solutions to management challenges.

6 pilot sites will benefit from FFEM support: Albania, Algeria, Lebanon,  Morocco,  Tunisia, Türkiye.

• Better management of the pilot sites, through strengthened governance, public-private partnership, and private sector contributions (fishing and tourism) through to sustainable ecosystemic resource management.
• Co-construction of inclusive regional governance and conservation policies actively developed by site managers and others involved.
• Articulation and dissemination of scientific knowledge to support management and political decision-making.

A number of planned actions place the emphasis on supporting co-management between local actors, in particular to reduce dependency with regard to public financing; “Powercube ” training which enables the simultaneous training of a manager, a decision-maker and a scientist or civil society actor; or again the willingness to implement the synergies and mutual amplifica-tion of the approaches of the four project sponsors wishing to set an example.

The project is constructed so that all its actions are based on practical experience, developed on the pilot sites and designed to be both illustrative and reproducible.

The exemplary nature of the Mediterranean initiatives will also be largely disseminated through partner networks at both local and international scale.