CORMON on Coast and Hydrography met in Madrid

On 3 March 2017, PAP/RAC, in collaboration with UN Environment MAP Secretariat, organized a meeting of the Ecosystem Approach Correspondence Group on Monitoring (CORMON) on Coast and Hydrography in Madrid, Spain. The meeting was hosted by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment. It was attended by 20-odd experts – representatives of the Contracting Parties, as well as external experts/consultants on given topics, PAP/RAC, SPA/RAC, MEDPOL, and UN Environment Secretariat representatives.

One of the main topics of the meeting was to discuss the knowledge gaps and issues on implementing three indicators related to Coast and Hydrography clusters: (i) „Location and extent of the habitats impacted directly by hydrographic alterations“; (ii) „Length of coastline subject to physical disturbance due to the influence of manmade structures”; and (iii) „Land-use change“. Another important topic was the development of the Mediterranean Quality Status Report (QSR), which is due by the end of 2017. Many participants agreed to contribute to the QSR by sending written national experiences on given topics. Finally, the representatives of the Contracting Parties were invited to present the current state of their National Integrated Monitoring Assessment Programmes (IMAPs) regarding Coast and Hydrography. The meeting was successful and provided PAP/RAC with essential inputs for the completion of the Indicators Guidance Fact Sheets, as well as for the QSR.

The day before (2 March), PAP/RAC representatives attended the Workshop on Science-Policy Interface, with specific focus on Risk-Based Approach (RBA) and its implementation in monitoring EcAp indicators. The meeting was organized by Plan Bleu and UN Environment MAP Secretariat.