for a living planet R

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1 Members of six governments of the Dinaric region commit to regional cooperation in sustainable development. CBD COP 9, Bonn, Germany / D. PARRISH for a living planet R Posidonia, the newsletter for the community of environmental organizations in the Mediterranean. OL 8 NO 1, S VOL OL , SPRING 2008 WWF UPDATE Historic agreement for biodiversity in south-eastern Europe WWF awards for conservation merit Hutovo Blato, heart of the sharing waters project Ec Eau Sebou project, Morocco Agriculture and rural development Moving towards European integration WWF IN THE NEWS Portugal celebrates Eagle Day EU closes bluefin tuna fishery early Europe ope s largest riverine protected area Greek seas threatened by trawling decision UPDATE FROM NGOs Civil society and river stewardship Arab climate alliance Neretva cleaning day Workshop on pine nuts in Tunisia Exchange on wood and cork craft Resources Announcements POSi DONi A

2 WWF update: Information HISTORIC AGREEMENT FOR BIODIVERSITY IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE Deni Porej Director of Conservation A remarkable event at the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 9) in May saw the meeting of members of six governments of the Dinaric region and their commitment to regional cooperation in sustainable development. Ministers of the governments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia and the Secretary of State of Croatia met under the umbrella of the Dinaric Arc Initiative and the Slovenian Government (EU Presidency) to sign a joint statement where they recognize the value of the CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas for Conservation and Development in the Dinaric region. The Ministers committed their countries to cross-border conservation efforts and a series of national targets including the establishment of 13 new protected areas and the enlargement of 9 existing ones. For WWF and the Dinaric Arc Initiative partners this is a major milestone towards building a representative and viable system of protected areas in the region. The Dinaric Arc ecoregion encompasses the whole region bordering on the eastern Adriatic Sea, from the city of Trieste (Italy) to Tirana (Albania). It includes portions of Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania. The Dinaric Arc Initiative (DAI) partners are WWF, UNESCO BRESCE, IUCN, UNDP, Council of Europe, FAO, UNEP, Euronatur, SNV, REC and WTO. DAI has been working since 2005 towards achieving greater cooperation between governments, international bodies and regional and international conservation partners. WWF is now offering to help national governments in implementing the new regional and national commitments for the conservation of the region s natural and cultural wealth, and the sustainable management of existing resources. WWF s work in support of the implementation of the Programme of Work on Protected Areas in the Dinaric region is funded by the MAVA Foundation. Olive trees on the Adriatic, Vis island, Croatia / I. BURA

3 WWF update: Information WWF AWARDS FOR CONSERVATION MERIT Christoph Stein Head of Barcelona Project Office The hard work and commitment of three of s partner NGOs AFDC, SUNCE and AZIR were celebrated with the WWF Award for Conservation Merit at the end of May. The Association for Forests, Development and Conservation (AFDC), Lebanon received the award in recognition of an outstanding contribution to forest conservation, management and restoration, and to building the capacity of local communities. The Croatian Association for Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development (SUNCE) was presented with the award in recognition of the leading role they play in marine and coastal issues in Croatia and in the declaration of Lastovo Archipelago Nature Park. The Association AZIR for the Protection of the Environment, Morocco received the award in recognition of outstanding work in the conservation of Al Hoceima s marine habitat, and for addressing the impact of driftnets and destructive fishing methods. The WWF Award for Conservation Merit is given in recognition of demonstrated long-standing commitment to local, grass-roots conservation. The 2008 WWF Annual Conference was held in Bodrum, Turkey from May. Chief Emeka Anyaoku, President of WWF International, presenting the awards to Saliha Ziani (AZIR), Ljiljana Prebanda and Zrinka Jakl (SUNCE) and Sawsan Abu Fakhreddine (AFDC). WWF Annual Conference 2008, Bodrum, Turkey. WWF-Canon / E. OKIC HUTOVO BLATO, HEART OF THE SHARING WATERS PROJECT Zoran Mateljak Sharing Waters Neretva zmateljak@wwfmedpo.org The annual celebration of Hutovo Blato nature park, a Ramsar site of importance for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, took place at the end of May. Hutovo Blato purifies water that flows to the Adriatic Sea and naturally prevents floods in Croatia. WWF Mediterranean is highly involved in the area in the framework of its freshwater programme as Hutovo Blato could soon be seriously affected by dams planned in the area. This event gathered decision-makers around issues related to the management of Hutovo Blato. More than 80 people attended including representatives of local authorities and the Ministry for the Environment, public enterprises for water management and local NGOs. National and local media were also present. The Freshwater programme is funded by the MAVA Foundation. For further details of Hutovo Blato see

4 WWF update: Information AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT Mato Gotovac Sharing Waters Livanjsko Polje coordinator Branko Vucijak Neretva freshwater projects coordinator A visit to Livanjsko and Sinjsko Polje areas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the end of May by a team of international experts resulted in some important findings for agriculture in the area. The mission team, with members from the spatial planning, nature conservation, natural resources management, agriculture and rural tourism fields, held meetings with Ministries and with the county government of Split- Dalmatia. Representatives of the tourist industry, farmers associations and NGOs were consulted and field visits made to farms, rural communities and tourism businesses. The team found that there is scope for development of nature conservation through participatory spatial planning and river basin management. They are currently formulating a project to foster the development of agricultural commodity chains, based on high quality and valueadded products of the region. The mission was part of the activities of the Dinaric Arc Initiative to support sustainable rural development and natural resource management of the Livanjsko and Sinjsko Polje areas. MOVING TOWARDS EUROPEAN INTEGRATION One of the most important steps for Bosnia and Herzegovina on the path towards accession to the European Union is to successfully adopt EU legal standards for the protection of biodiversity. At a seminar held in Sarajevo in May government representatives and experts from current EU member states exchanged experiences and identifed national needs. The seminar was an opportunity to raise the awareness of both Bosnia and Herzegovina administration and civil society and increase their commitment to biodiversity conservation. The seminar EU biodiversity protection standards implementation in southeastern Europe was organised by WWF and the Federal Ministry for environment and tourism within the project Europe s Living Heart supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through WWF Norway. EC EAU SEBOU PROJECT, MOROCCO Meryem El Madani Freshwater Project Coordinator Morocco melmadani@wwfmedpo.org The Ec Eau Sebou project, which ended in April, consolidated the Sebou Water Basin Agency s expertise in economic analyses applied to Integrated Water Resources Management. The results of the project were communicated to a broad audience, including representatives of the main departments involved in water management in Morocco, experts, researchers and academics during a national workshop in Fès in April. The main results of Ec Eau Sebou were also presented at the MEDA Water event held in Marrakech at the end of April to an international audience. A publication summarising the project was shared with the participants. The Ec Eau Sebou project was launched in February 2007 and ended in April Ec Eau Sebou was funded by the EU MEDA Water Programme and implemented by the Sebou Water Basin Agency and WWF Mediterranean, with the support of ACTeon, an environmental consultancy based in France.

5 WWF in the news PORTUGAL CELEBRATES EAGLE DAY Angela Morgado Communications and advocacy officer in Portugal launched an environmental awareness initiative, Eagle Day, in partnership with Benfica, the largest football club in the country, whose emblem is an eagle. On April 11, in Lisbon s football stadium, Beneficia s players appeared with a special t-shirt featuring their logo without the eagle, and the question Where s our eagle?. A presenter spoke of the vulnerability of the Imperial Eagle a species that is endangered and which is a symbol of Portugal s unique forests and biodiversity and called for greater conservation efforts. Eagle Day was an event developed by WWF with Benfica, Portugal s football EU CLOSES BLUEFIN TUNA FISHERY EARLY Gemma Parkes Communications Officer gparkes@wwfmedpo.org Following mounting pressure by WWF on the fisheries decisionmaking world, the European Commission decided to close the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery to EU industrial fleets on 16 June, two weeks before the official season was set to end. WWF welcomed the move but was swift to remind policymakers of the need now for urgent and more far-reaching fisheries management reform to avoid the collapse of the species. The next opportunity to bring in radical changes to the management of team, using the eagle to promote awareness for WWF s work in the country. New updates and links on WWF Portugal web pages (in Portuguese) Dia da Águia Sport Lisboa e Benfica Mediterranean bluefin is the meeting of ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) in November Scientists repeatedly warn that unless urgent changes are made now, the species risks commercial and biological extinction. WWF s work on fisheries is supported by the Oak Foundation. Full story on Developed by advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather to support WWF s tuna minicampaign focusing on the EU, this image appeared as an ad in The Economist, the European Voice, and Fortune Magazine.

6 WWF in the news EUROPE S LARGEST RIVERINE PROTECTED AREA Arno MOHL Freshwater Officer WWF Austria arno.mohl@wwf.at Croatia celebrated World Water Day on 22 March by approving the preliminary protection of one of Europe s most important river ecosystems, the wetlands of the Danube, Drava and Mura an area of about 150,000ha. With the decree, Croatia s Ministry of Culture has established the largest coherent riverine reserve in all Europe, and taken an important step in safeguarding their unique natural and cultural heritage. Their decision creates a great opportunity for international cooperation on the protection of this trans-boundary river ecosystem. The newly protected area is an integral part of the proposed Trans-Boundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve between Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia. See Iris pseudacorus. WWF-Canon / M. GUNTHER GREEK SEAS THREATENED BY TRAWLING DECISION Giorgos Paximadis Marine Officer WWF Greece g.paximadis@wwf.gr A damaging decision by Greek authorities to allow trawl fishing close to the shoreline in Greece risks endangering fragile marine life on the coastal seabed. A coalition of national conservation organizations, including WWF Greece, is calling for the immediate reversal of this decision. Trawling a fishing method whereby weighted nets are dragged along the bottom of the sea is renowned for its destructive and indiscriminate nature, and is the least selective of all fishing gears, with an annual bycatch rate of some 44 per cent. The coalition of Greek conservation organizations requesting the revocation of the Ministerial Decision consists of: Archelon (Sea Turtle Protection Society), Mediterranean SOS Network, MÏm (Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal), Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute, Greenpeace, and WWF Greece. Bycatch is the capture of non-target species (and discarded juveniles of target species) in fishing gear. See

7 Update from Mediterranean NGOs CIVIL SOCIETY AND RIVER STEWARDSHIP Raffaele Mancini Across The Waters The Catalan NGO Projecte Rius hosted an exchange in May for people working in river conservation and sustainable management in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece. Five guest participants from WWF Mediterranean projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, WWF Greece and Bosnian NGOs learnt about the approach that the Catalan NGO has developed to facilitate civil society participation in river stewardship. The approach developed by Projecte Rius, currently implemented in several Spanish regions and Andorra, is based on environmental education and public participation through groups of volunteers. This exchange provided invaluable material, especially for participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina where, despite the efforts made, public participation in environmental issues remains extremely limited. At the end of the exchange a project concept was developed to establish a Projecte Rius-Neretva group with the involvement of local schools. This activity was organized by the WWF Mediterranean/Across the Waters Exchange Programme, in the framework of the Living Neretva project funded by the Norwegian Government. ARAB CLIMATE ALLIANCE IndyAct The League of Independent Activists dobeid@indyact.org Zdenka Jelèiæ Moèvara Bosnia and Herzegovina mocvara@tel.net.ba Several NGOs have joined forces to create an Arab Climate Alliance, to advocate for a strong role for the Arab League in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (post-2012) climate agreements. They see this as a crucial step in a region with water resources growing scarcer and the agriculture sector becoming the victim of ever more extreme weather conditions. More than 15 NGOs have committed to the Alliance so NERETVA CLEANING DAY On a Saturday morning at the end of April a working party of more than 100 people took to the banks of the Neretva river in Bosnia and Herzegovina to rescue the area from the ugly effects of littering and pollution. The event followed months of preparation and hard work from the NGO Moèvara. Following the cleaning activity, Moèvara held a far. They aim to build the capacity of Arab civil society institutes on climate science and policy, to increase coordination and communication between these organizations, to conduct regional activities and communication on climate policy and to advocate for a strong post-2012 climate policy among Arab states. creative workshop in the cleaned area Neretva is life which was attended by local children, and organized an exhibition focusing on the beauty of the Neretva River. There was great interest in the initiative from local and regional newspapers and radio.

8 Update from Mediterranean NGOs WORKSHOP ON PINE NUTS IN TUNISIA Hassen Zaghdoudi A workshop was organised in Tunisia last April on collection and drying techniques for pine nut production. Ten young participants from Gouairia took part in the workshop held at the Rimel Centre for Professional Training in Bizerte, moderated by a representative from the Lebanese NGO AFDC and the Cooperative of Pine Nut Forest Owners of Lebanon. The course covered a wide range of topics on the management of pine forests. A field visit was organized to a nearby pine forest, to evaluate current techniques in Tunisia. The workshop resulted in EXCHANGE ON WOOD AND CORK CRAFT Faouzi Maamouri Head of Tunis Office fmaamouri@wwfmedpo.org Two representatives of the Moroccan association Friends of the Thuya from the region of Essaouira visited 17 Tunisian artisans of the El Amel Service Cooperative of Jendouba in Tunisia in May. The exchange gave the Tunisian artisans, who work on wood and cork handicrafts, a chance to hear of the valuable experiences of their Moroccan colleagues, particularly regarding drying, varnishing, management and reuse of wood by-products, creativity and marketing. The exchange involved visits to well- a recommendation to participants to reduce the density of trees to 300 per hectare, and to cut dry branches from the lower parts of the tree to allow them to produce better quality crowns and increase cone production. This workshop was organized by /Across the Waters exchange programme and Fundación IPADE. It was funded by AECI (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional) in the framework of the programme Contribution to sustainable development through the promotion of non-timber forest products in the Kroumerie region, Tunisia. established workshops in Jendouba, Ouled Hlel and Babbouch. Here the local artisans were shown further techniques in wood cutting to develop their skills and improve the quality and selling potential of their products. This exchange was organized by /Across the Waters exchange programme and Fundación IPADE. It was funded by AECI (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional) in the framework of the programme Contribution to sustainable development through the promotion of non-timber forest products in the Kroumerie region, Tunisia. Moroccan trainers demonstrating their skills to Tunisian artisans. / H. ZAGHDOUDI

9 Update from Mediterranean NGOs RESOURCES Freshwater Ecoregions of the World Over a decade of work and contributions by more than 200 leading conservation scientists have produced a first-ever comprehensive map and database of the diversity of life in the world s freshwater ecosystems. Covering virtually all freshwater habitats on Earth, this ecoregion map, together with associated species data, is a useful tool for global and regional conservation planning efforts. New posters on water-related issues UNESCOCAT, UNESCO s office in Catalonia, has published a series of eight posters on key water-related issues. UNESCOCAT and WWF have translated the posters into Bosnian in the framework of the public awareness activities that WWF is carrying out in the Neretva river basin. See the Living Neretva project webpage, in local language at zivjetineretvu and in English at rmancini@atw-wwf.org OECD s Environment Outlook to 2030 The OECD Outlook is the latest - and at 520 pages one of the weightiest - in a run of reports from prominent economic institutions and commissions calling on governments and international institutions to face up to the seriousness and immediacy of global environmental problems. mediterranean/news/index.cfm?unewsid= Cars should plug in to a new future Plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles offer a promising pathway to a sustainable transport future that reduces risks of climate catastrophe and possible conflict over dwindling oil resources, a new WWF analysis has found. mediterranean/news/index.cfm?unewsid= How square-mesh trawl nets will benefit the Mediterranean A new report from WWF encourages the switch from the unselective diamondmesh nets currently used by bottom-trawlers in the Mediterranean to more selective square-mesh nets, sooner than the obligatory deadline of mediterranean/publications/index.cfm?unewsid= More than just fish The oceans provide an estimated $US 21 trillion in products and services to humanity, including abating climate change through absorbing CO2 and as a source of new medicines and materials. See the a new WWF Germany study of the ocean's value. mediterranean/news/index.cfm?unewsid= Natural Security: Protected Areas and Hazard Mitigation The fifth volume in the WWF Arguments for Protection series, which is assembling evidence on the social and economic benefits of protected areas to strengthen support for park creation and management. For more information on the Arguments for Protection series: protection/arguments Adaptations aux Changements Climatiques au Maroc Bulletin For further information: Abdellatif Khattabi, coordinator of ACCMA project. a_khattabi@ .com Bluefin Witness In the third edition of Bluefin Witness, Jose Luís Cort, one of the ICCAT scientific committee s leading advisors, restates that the current rate of fishing is putting the stock at high risk of collapse. And ocean historian and successful author Richard Ellis turns to tuna with his book, Tuna: A Love Story.

10 Update from Mediterranean NGOs ANNOUNCEMENTS Further additions to Europe s safety net for nature Nearly 19,000km2 have been added to the EU s Natura 2000 network of specially protected sites. Read more on Energy Globe Awards 2007 The Energy Globe World Awards were presented on 26 May 2008 at the European Parliament in Brussels. Among the winning projects was Destinations, the national winner for Algeria. For more information zeljka.skaricic@ppa.htnet.hr Sardinia Charter At the Mediterranean Workshop on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Policy last May there was a special session dedicated to the Sardinian experience of ICZM. It resulted in the the adoption of the Sardinia Charter which aims to promote the local level ICZM network, supported by NGO networks including WWF, Medcities and EUCC. For more information apome@wwfmedpo.org. A new Union for the Mediterranean EU leaders have given the green light to create a 'Union for the Mediterranean', an initiative aimed at upgrading the EU's relations with its neighbours from North Africa and the Middle East. Upcoming Climate Change Talks Sessions of the Ad hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention and the Ad hoc Working Group on Further Commitments under the Kyoto Protocol August, 2008, Accra, Ghana. United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 14, CMP 4 and sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies 1-12 December, 2008, Poznan', Poland The European Social Forum A regional forum within the World Social Forum, for ideas, proposals, exchange and to connect civil society September 2008, Malmö, Sweden European Forum for Managers of Natural Areas The first European forum of its kind, organized within the framework of events linked to the French presidency of the European Union November 2008, Lyon, France Call for Papers The Canadian Journal of Environmental Education Vol. 14, In preparation for the 5th World Environmental Education Congress in Montreal (May 2009). Deadline for submissions is July marcia.mckenzie@usask.ca or greenwood@wsu.edu International Year of the Potato Prepared by Programme. To subscribe, unsubscribe or contribute to Posidonia, please send an to msuarez@atw-wwf.org Posidonia is available on the web at WWF WWF Registered Trademark