Reversing biodiversity loss in urban environments: ENSERES partners MedCities and MedPAN consolidate work together in Sarajevo

The unprecedented growth in population has led to major urbanisation, especially in coastal areas. The cumulative impacts of overexploitation, population, governance and climate change exerted pressures on Mediterranean coastal and marine areas are leading to undermine biodiversity, ecosystem integrity and threatening the Mediterranean lifestyle. Cities are at the forefront of this crisis. The use of Nature based Solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based management (EBM) approaches is becoming crucial, applied both inside and outside protected areas, including urban territories. The transferable experiences and tools for the application of integrated governance and management approaches in the case of Sfax (Tunisia) and Tyre (Lebanon) through their participation in the project ENSERES “ENhancing Socio-Ecological RESilience in Mediterranean coastal areas” will be shared during the forthcoming General Assembly of MedCities to take place in Sarajevo on 22 and 23 November 2023. .

To sustain this approach in time, integrate it in the work plan of existing networks and to reinforce the connections among them, MedCities and the Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPA) managers’ network, MedPAN, will share the recently agreed Memorandum of Understanding to build cooperation and align positions in relevant policy processes during the session organized on 22 November in order to:

• Highlight the collaborative successes achieved among protected area and city stakeholders for enhancing socio-ecological resilience levels along the Mediterranean coast;
• Share local transferable experiences in applying NbS and EBM experiences to blue and green infrastructure; and
• Identify MedCities members’ priorities to address through the Working Groups on “Coastal cities” and “Planning green cities”.

This new collaboration milestone will ensure the continuity of ENSERES partners' efforts after the project closes on 30 November 2023.