New Web Portal on Mediterranean Protected Areas
14 March 2005

During the 2005 Mediterranean Parks Fair - Mediterre- held in Brindisi (Italy) and jointly organized by Federparchi, the region of Puglia and the Italian Ministerio dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio, a Yearbook of 2005 the Italian Parks - which contains addresses and contacts, events and initiatives in Italian parks - was launched as an important instrument to promote the value of protected areas for people. Federparchi together with other partners have also developed a web portal in three languages with updated information on protected areas in Mediterranean countries.

The Mediterre's aim is to promote the exchange of ideas and common projects amongst organisations involved in protected areas management across the Mediterranean region.

This international Fair convened IUCN members - the Ministry for Environment of Libya and Morocco, Junta de Andalucia, Diputacion de Barcelona, Generalitat de Catalunya - and other international organizations such as the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas of UNEP and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas. In total over 200 participants from 11 countries contributed lively debates on different topics. There was a consensus on the need to focus on articulating, improving and communicating the linkages between protected areas and local development opportunities at an extremely practical level. Everybody agreed that no single protected area alone can meet biodiversity conservation needs. Local and regional partnerships, networks as well as Mediterranean solidarity and cooperation emerged as key instruments for the way forward.

Up-to-day, Mediterre has always been held in Italy. But organizers are now planning to turn this international fair into a more itinerant event to be hosted by other Mediterranean countries.

For further information, please contact Andrés Alcantara.

Interesting links:
Mediterre
Federparchi