Towards monitoring of Mediterranean coastal zones

On 26 and 27 October 2016, the first training workshop on indicators related to coast and hydrography was organized in Rabat, Morocco, in the framework of the EcAp Med II project. In addition to two PAP/RAC representatives and three experts, four national consultants nominated by their government, two representatives of the Moroccan Ministry of Environment and a UNEP/MAP expert attended the workshop.

In the IMAP adopted by the COP 19, 27 indicators were identified as relevant to estimate the good environmental status of the Mediterranean coastal zones and sea. This workshop was dedicated to three of them, as follows: “Length of coastline subject to physical disturbance due to the influence of manmade structures”; “Location and extent of the habitats impacted directly by hydrographic alterations; and “Land use change”. PAP/RAC experts presented the indicators individually to define precisely the monitoring arrangements, and provided concrete examples of their use in some countries already implementing them. Country experts exchanged afterwards on national experiences in that field. The workshop was concluded with a presentation of UNEP/MAP expert on evaluation of capacity needs to carry out the project. One of the main requests formulated by national experts was the constitution of a sub-regional expert group for a better coordination of the monitoring. This very dynamic workshop enabled the establishment of a sound basis that will allow experts to start the preparation of national monitoring programmes for these indicators, which is a step forward towards a harmonized and efficient monitoring of Mediterranean coastal zones.