The results of the ENSERES (ENhancing Socio-Ecological RESilience in Mediterranean coastal areas) project, carried out by the Municipality of Sfax, MedCities, ETC-UMA (European Thematic Centre for Spatial Analysis and Synthesis) and the SPA RAC Centre (Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas), were presented on Monday at a meeting organised in Sfax on the occasion of the project’s closure, scheduled for next November.
Funded by the European Union under the ENI CBC MED Mediterranean cooperation programme, the ENSERES project aims to transfer monitoring and management knowledge and techniques, as well as digital tools, along the Mediterranean coast to meet the growing needs of coastal towns and protected area stakeholders for sustainable coastal management.
Among the results achieved and presented by the organisers of the meeting were “the promotion of small-scale fishing as a means of conservation, knowledge of the process of integrated management of an area of natural interest (MARISTANIS project in the Gulf of ORISTANO, Italy), the creation of a guide for monitoring marine waste and improving waste management in the port, in addition to bringing the municipality closer to the port and civil society,” said environment and climate change expert Sarra Hihi.
The expert pointed out that Sfax has benefited from 4 main activities: the toolbox, which is very useful for local actors in terms of participatory governance in small-scale fishing; the fight against the proliferation of marine waste, particularly in the fishing port of Sfax; and the funding of the activities of 5 NGOs in Sfax, Kneiss and Kerkennah.
For his part, the Director of Decentralised Cooperation, Ahmed Guidara, pointed out that the use of the project’s results now opens the way to other actions and projects aimed at protecting ecosystems, particularly marine ecosystems, from human activities (pollution, erosion, illegal fishing, etc.), with a view to raising awareness of the risks that Tunisia faces as a result of climate change.
Reviewing the capacity-building activities carried out, the creation of a toolbox and the monitoring carried out at the pilot site in the fishing port, which suffers from devastating plastic pollution problems, he said that these tangible results would enable decision-makers to take the necessary measures to protect vulnerable coastal areas.
Christoph Schroeder, representing the University of Malaga in Spain (a partner in the project), highlighted the role played by the municipality of Sfax in the success of the project and stressed the need to strengthen the socio-environmental resilience of Mediterranean coastal areas at local, national and international levels.
Participants at the meeting also highlighted one of the project’s outputs, which they consider essential in the process of protecting the natural resources of coastal areas, in particular Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This is the Catalogue of Biodiversity Conservation Tools in the Mediterranean, which covers the different needs and requirements of ecosystem management.
The tools in the catalogue include monitoring and management tools to facilitate data collection and monitoring of specific ecological and socio-economic aspects, such as the presence and distribution of marine litter and physico-chemical parameters related to water quality and climate change. They also include geospatial tools (to promote access to and sharing of spatial data and information) and financial tools (to complete the range of assistance available for more effective protection of biodiversity in the region).
The event’s programme included a series of presentations by project partners and civil society organisations involved in activities to conserve the biodiversity and natural resources of Sfax by combating marine pollution.
These include the Association Sfax El Mezyana, the Association la Continuité des Générations (ACG), the Association Kantara Save Earth in Kerkennah, the Association des Femmes pour la Développement des Iles et Littoral and the Observatoire l’Environnement, the Association des Femmes pour la Développement des Iles et Littoral, the Association de la the Association des Femmes pour Développement des Iles et Littoral and the Observatoire de l’Environnement, the Association de la Continuité des Générations (ACG), the Association Kantara Save Earth in Kerkennah, the Association des Femmes pour le Développement des Iles et du Littoral and the Observatoire Régional de l’Environnement de Sfax (ORES).
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse