Representatives from a diverse group of institutions, including public authorities, research organizations and conservationists gathered in Brussels to discuss the need for a holistic approach to biodiversity protection in the Mediterranean.

The public hearing – Ecosystems in Danger: Enhancing EU Policy Response – held 5 December at the European Parliament addressed, among other issues, the needs to take action to ensure ecosystem connectivity and regulate socio-economic activities in key ecological areas.

The hearing was part of a two-day event organized by the PANACeA horizontal project of the Interreg MED Biodiversity Protection community, which included a workshop attended by representatives of the community’s 12 modular projects. The aim of the workshop was to coordinate the efforts of the various projects and engage Mediterranean policy institutions in dialogue. The event culminated in the signing of a declaration on « Ecosystem-based approaches for biodiversity protection and management ».

At the hearing, Ameer Abdulla of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas – a PANACeA advisory board member – stated that « biodiversity and natural resources must now be better managed within and beyond protected area boundaries and across national borders ».

MedCities is a partner of PANACeA and chaired a session on marine pollution during the event. More information on the declaration and the presentations made by speakers during the two days can be found here.