The MedFund grants 1.8 million euros to protect marine biodiversity
Despite the upheaval caused by the global health crisis, the MedFund has allocated 1.8 million euros for the benefit of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean Sea. The fund benefits from the financial support of the Government of Monaco and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
The President H.E. Mr. Fautrier and the directors of the MedFund held their 12th Board of Directors meeting by videoconference on Tuesday 24 March. The Board of Directors approved funding of 1.8 million euros for the Marine Protected Areas in Tunisia and Albania for the next 5 years.
This financial support, granted to local civil society organisations and national agencies in charge of protected areas, contributes to the sustainable financing of effective management of these natural areas.
MedFund awards €1.8 million funding for Marine Protected Areas in Tunisia & Albania over 5 years. Some areas w. resident #dolphin populations. @whalesorg @marinemammalogy @EuroCetSoc @PewEurope @OceanaEurope @mmpatf @OceanCare @ShiftingValues @ACCOBAMS https://t.co/nxvL0lJ06O pic.twitter.com/l4stxg9nYV
— Erich Hoyt (@ErichHoyt) April 3, 2020
The marine protected areas of Kuriat, Galite, Kneiss, Zembra and Zembretta islands in Tunisia and the Karaburun Sazan Marine Protected Area in Albania will benefit from The MedFund support until 2024 in order to preserve the marine ecosystems and the populations that depend on them.
A next call for interest will be launched in June to support new marine protected areas in the Mediterranean sea.
Effective management of the Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a condition for ensuring sustainable protection of marine biodiversity. For this reason, France, Monaco, Tunisia and Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation created in 2015, an environmental fund dedicated to Mediterranean MPAs: The MedFund.
The MedFund benefits from the financial support of the Government of Monaco, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and Agence française de développement (AFD). The MedFund contributes to the protection of some of the most sensitive marine areas in the Mediterranean Sea. The goal is to support twenty MPAs in 7 Mediterranean countries by 2025.