Barcelona hosted on 30/10 an initiative marking the beginning of two new cooperative pathways to address the climate crisis and the multiple anthropogenic stresses on marine ecosystems. Both initiatives are co-financed by the European Union and are part of the Plastic Busters initiative, labelled by the Union for the Mediterranean. “The Impact of Multiple Stressors on Marine Biodiversity and Coastal Communities in the Mediterranean: New Commitments to Address Climate Change Adaptation Challenges Through the Plastic Busters Initiative” was the title of the event held on 30/10 at the Union for the Mediterranean headquarters in Barcelona. It was an opportunity to present two new European projects, Interreg NEXT MED MedPROACT and Interreg Euro-MED MIRAMAR, and to confirm the full synergy between the two Interreg programs for the future of a more sustainable and climate-resilient Mediterranean Sea.

Both projects will work closely with each other and with countries across the Mediterranean basin, from Spain to Tunisia, from Italy to Turkey. Their work will focus on developing new methodologies to monitor the multiple impacts on Mediterranean biodiversity, the resulting restoration of marine ecosystems, and increasing the resilience of key economic sectors along the Mediterranean coasts (especially fishing and tourism), which, along with ecosystem stability, are severely impacted by climate change, plastic pollution, and emerging contaminants.

Innovative solutions and pilot actions will be implemented by Interreg NEXT MED MedPROACT in 10 pilot areas across Italy (the “Secche della Meloria” fdoff Livorno in Tuscany, Capo Milazzo (Messina), the Egadi and Pelagie Islands in Sicily, and the coast between Otranto and Leuca (Lecce) in Puglia), Jordan, Tunisia, and Turkey. The actions undertaken here will focus on the management of invasive fish species, the development of new strategies for adapting the fishing sector, restoration of Posidonia oceanica meadows and coral reefs, and the development of governance tools, such as Adaptation Plans and Guidelines.

MIRAMAR is the lead project of the Plastic Busters initiative, co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Euro-MED program. Maria Cristina Fossi, full professor at the University of Siena and project leader, states: “The University of Siena, together with seven other Mediterranean partners, through the MIRAMAR project aims to address one of the most significant challenges facing the Mediterranean region. Unique in the world for its biodiversity, this region continues to face increasing pressures, such as the simultaneous presence of emerging contaminants, marine pollution including microplastics, the presence of alien species, underwater noise, and habitat destruction. All these stressors, resulting from increasingly intense human activities and exacerbated by climate change, are causing long-term impacts on the stability of ecosystems and the well-being of coastal communities. MIRAMAR therefore has the concrete objective of enhancing the scientific knowledge of local communities in nine pilot areas and strengthening regional cooperation to address these complex challenges.”