Second Mediterranean Natura 2000 Seminar

Dates: 14-16 November 2017

Location: Limassol, Cyprus

Host: Terra Cypria, the Cyprus conservation foundation, with the support of the Environment Department and the Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development & Environment, Cyprus.

The Seminar will provide an opportunity for Natura 2000 experts across the Mediterranean region to discuss the forms of joint actions and concrete areas of cooperation which can be developed to optimise the contribution of Natura 2000 to achieving the Favourable Conservation Status of Mediterranean habitats and species of Community importance.

The Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process has continued to develop and evolve, and strategic orientations for its future development have been discussed in various groups and committees. The importance of the Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process is also mentioned in several Actions of the EC's Action Plan for nature, people and the economy (see for example Action 4 and Action 6). The second Mediterranean Natura 2000 Seminar will discuss the practical implementation of the orientations that have been formulated.

In order to help re-focus the work, this seminar will be organised around four large thematic clusters. The four 'Habitat Working Groups' of the previous Mediterranean Seminar have been replaced by four 'Thematic Working Groups' corresponding to the following thematic clusters:

Assessment and sustainable development of ecosystems (in particular, water related services) – this group may include subjects such as: setting restoration priorities, interpretation of habitats, favourable reference values …
Conservation objectives, monitoring and evaluation – for example, approaches to integrated planning, ways to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation measures, …
Effective governance models for integrated approaches to implement Natura 2000 – for example, effective Natura 2000 governance structures, participatory approaches …
Addressing threats and pressure on Mediterranean habitats and species – for example, ways to assess and mitigate negative impacts of land use pressures, dealing with ecological connectivity …

It will of course still be possible to address specific issues related to the 'top 20' Mediterranean habitat types and habitats defined as Low Hanging Fruit under the four thematic clusters.

Participation is only possible by invitation.

The provisional seminar programme can be found here.

The Seminar Input Document and the Seminar Report can be found on this page.

Plenary presentations: