Towards an effective implementation of the Marine Protected Areas Strategy in Lebanon

Transcription

1 Towards an effective implementation of the Marine Protected Areas Strategy in Lebanon 1

2 INTRODUCTION The Lebanese coastal zone extends about 225 km covering hectares of coastal plains and hills (16% of Lebanon's surface area) where 2.6 millions inhabitants live (70% of the Lebanese population). Lebanon's economic activities are concentrated in this zone which contributes in about three quarters of the national income.

3 MPAs in Lebanon Lebanon currently has 2 MPAs : Palm Islands Nature Reserve in north Lebanon Tyre Coast Nature Reserve in south Lebanon 3

4 Goal: A Network of Marine Protected Areas, established and managed within an integrated marine management framework, that contributes to the health of Lebanon s sea and marine environment.. Strategic area 1: Strengthening institutional capacity and MPA management. Objectives Objective 1: Create New MPAs Activities 1. Draft required legal texts for the declara- tion as MPAs of the already identified, negoti- ated and studied sites, and initiate administrative procedures for the endorsement of these legal texts. 2. Identify gaps or missing information of rel- evance for already declared sites. 3. Carry out biodiversity field surveys and prepare base maps for the pre-selected priority marine areas for conservation in Lebanon. 4. Decide which priority areas for conservation should be considered for MPA establishment based on the related field assessment and surveys. 5. Draft and issue required legal texts for designation of the selected priority areas as new MPAs.

5 18 sites proposed MPAs were identified: nine coastal and marine, five estuaries, four in the deep sea 5

6 Proposed Marine Protected Area sites 1. Proposed marine Protected Area sites: Site1: Nakoura Site 2: Sidon rocks Site 3: Raoucheh cliffs and caves Site 4: Beirut Port outer platform Site 5: Byblos Site 6: Medfoun rocky area Site 7: Batroun Phoenician wall Site 8: Ras Chekaa cliffs Site 9: Enfeh Peninsula

7 Based on the MPA strategy a collaboration was initiated between MoE and RAC/SPA (within the MedMPAnet project ) to carry out biodiversity surveys in selected sites among the proposed MPAs in the strategy: The field missions were undertaken by RAC/SPA in collaboration with experts from the University of Alicante, the Lebanese University, the Lebanese National Centre for Marine Research (CNRS-L) and IUCN

8 Ecological characterisation, Evaluation of the areas, including human impacts MedMPAnet project Management recommendations of the studied areas and zoning proposal.

9 Lebanon Marine Biodiversity macrorganisms during the missions (taxon levels: species, genus and family level) - (77 exotic species; 17.6 %) MedMPAnet project 9

10 MedMPAnet project New Lebanon Records: 18 spp. 4 spp. macroalgae Bonnemaissonia asparagoides Arthrocladia villosa Sargassum trichocarpum Sporochnus pedunculatus 10 spp. invertebrates Paraleucilla magna Asterosmilia sp. Ditrupa arietina Cellana rota Elysis timida Venus casina Holothuria impatiens Pseudodistoma cyrnusence Didemnum coriaceum Polysyncraton bilobatum 4 spp. fishes Gobius geniporus Gobius Kolombatovicii Gobius vittatus Taeniura grabata 10

11 MedMPAnet project Mediterranean Marine Protected Species (Barcelona Convention): Nb. Protected species= + 23 species (during the missions) Macroalgae (5): 3 Phaeophyta: Cystoseira foeniculacea, Cystoseira dubia, Sargassum trichocarpum 2 Rhodophyta : Lithothamnion corallioides, Phymatolithon calcareum Marine phanerogames (1): Cymodocea nodosa Invertebrates (12): Annex II (protected species) Aplysina aerophoba Aplysina n. sp. 3 Porifera: Aplysina spp. plur., Axinella polypoides, Sarcotragus cf. foetidus 1 Cnidaria: Cladocora coespitosa 6 Mollusca: Dendropoma petraeum, Erosaria spurca, Luria lurida, Lithophaga lithophaga, Pinna nobilis, Tonna galea Annex III (managed species) 1 Porifera: Spongia officinalis ; 1 Echinodermata: Paracentrotus lividus Axinella polypoides Cymbaxinella n. sp. Vertebrates (5): Annex II (protected species): 2 Pisces: Gymnura altavela, Rhinobatos cemiculus 1 Reptilia: Chelonia mydas 11 Annex III (managed species) : 2 Pisces: Epinephelus marginatus, Sciaena umbra

12 Habitats of interest (Barcelona Convention, European Union) Nb. habitats= 11 (during the mission) MedMPAnet project littoral and Midlittoral: Vermetids platforms, Midlittoral caves Infralittoral: Cystoseira-Sargassum; Infralittoral rock with Axinella spp., Cymodocea nodosa meadows. Circalittoral : Coralligenous on rocky substratum, Coralligenous blocks, Caves and tunnels, Maerl beds Submarine springs (unique habitats): Cold springs, Hot springs Ax. polypoides Agelas Clathrina Cystodytes Vermetid platforms Lithistides Sponges Crambe Cymbaxinella n. sp. Gastrophanella phoeniciensis Unique habitat Coralligenous tunnel Cold spring Crambe Hot spring Aplysina n. sp. Unique habitats Microscleroderma lamina Caves and tunnels 12

13 Based on the Lebanon s marine protected areas strategy and the results of the MedMPAnet project field surveys: MOE has prepared legal and technical documents for the declaration of 3 MPAs 13

14 Raouche Natural site MedMPAnet project MoE submitted a draft decree to the Council of Ministries, to be declared as a marine natural site under the protection of MoE All infrastructure/projects to be conducted in the area surrounding Raouche rocks will have to go through an approval process by MoE, which puts environmental conditions or impose an EIA study according to the case 14

15 2 new MPAs: MoE is in the process of declaring 2 sites among the proposed MPAs sites as MedMPAnet project Ras Al Chekaa natural reserves: Nakoura Preparation of the draft law and its submission to the CoM Preparation of a management plan to the site Preparation of the draft law Preparation of a management plan to the site 15

16 Activities in Tyre Coast Nature Reserve

17 Tyre Coast Nature Reserve: Marine turtles Public awareness Monitoring the nesting areas ( ) Tracking of two marine turtles (July 2012)

18 Tyre Coast Nature Reserve: Marine turtles Training (Tyre reserve-2013) Sea turtles rescue center Theoretical session Installation ( ) Practical session

19 Tyre Coast Nature Reserve: Monitoring of fishes and habitats RAC/SPA and IUCN-ROWA Conducted a Marine Survey (14-23 April 2017), as part of the Sustainable Fisheries and Livelihood Support Project Monitoring and Assessment of marine natural habitats in Tyre Coast Nature Reserve

20 Tyre Coast Nature Reserve: Fisheries and Livelihood Support Part of the Sustainable fisheries management for improved livelihoods of the coastal fishing community in Tyre, south Lebanon, funded by Drosos Foundation. TCNR benefited from the following: - RHIB Patrol Boat for monitoring and enforcement - VHF marine radio - Reduced illegal blast fishing by 90% - Zoning for the MPA and the inclusion of the small islands. - Medic First Aid Training for the reserve team - Scooter for the rangers - Safe Air SCUBA Compressor - Sea Water Pump to operate to provide direct supply to the Turtle rescue center - Various reports, publication and awareness materials

21 Deep Sea Lebanon Project

22 Based on the MPA strategy a collaboration was initiated between MoE and Oceana to carry out biodiversity surveys in the proposed MPAs in the deep sea of Lebanon. The field missions (within the project Deep Sea Lebanon, ) were undertaken in October 2016 through a collaboration between Oceana, RAC/SPA, IUCN, and the Lebanese National Centre for Marine Research (CNRS-L).

23 Deep-sea expedition Staff 1 Deep Sea Lebanon Project On-board scientists from Oceana, RAC-SPA, IUCN and CNRS-L Field survey days From October 3 to 27 October 2016 Survey areas 5 submarine canyons 1. Off Batroun/Cheka /Tripoli 2. Jounieh 3. Beirut 4. St. George 5. Sayniq off Saida

24 Deep Sea Lebanon Project Data gathering ROV - Video analysis - Sampling CTD - Water parameters Grabs - Fauna and sediment Deep-sea expedition Total 50 ROV dives 70h video footage +200 identified species (visual) Depth range explored: m 94 biological samples (dredge and ROV) 11 CTD sampling 12 Grab sampling 3D bathymetric profiles

25 Identified habitats 40 m 50 m 90 m 140 m Maërl bed Coralligenous with Sea Pens and Echinoderms Deep Sea Lebanon Project DETRITIC SANDY BOTTOM SANDY MUDDY BOTTOM 250 m 1000 m with Foraminifera, Sea Pens and sea urchins UPPER ROCKY BOTTOM MUDDY BOTTOM BATHYAL ROCKS BATHYAL MUDDY BOTTOM

26 Identified Fishes

27 Identified Crustaceans

28 Identified Corals

29 Identified Sponges Identified Molluscs

30 Identified Echinoderms

31 Lebanon Deep Sea Biodiversity (preliminary findings) : macrorganisms during the expedition: Deep Sea Lebanon Project More than 50% of them are new for Lebanon 6 Mediterranean Protected Species (Annex II Protocol SPA/BD); and New records for the Mediterranean Sea that had only been found previously in the Atlantic Ocean and in Polar Regions. Next Steps 2017: Assisting Lebanon in the development of management guidelines, that will be benefit for the national authorities as well as the local communities; Identifying the potential areas to be protected; and Preparing the official MPA proposal to relevant authorities.

32 THANK YOU for your attention