-sandine-ruitton-pmcb-2.jpg "herbier et gorgone coralligène© Sandine Ruitton PMCB (2)")
What we achieve
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ACTIVITY 1
Adapting the Green List to Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas
The GreenList4MMPAs project is creating guidelines to help interpret and apply the Green List standard in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas.
So far, the project has:
Reviewed over 1,700 documents
A literature review helped find relevant documents to inform the development of the first draft of the guidance and notes for applying the IUCN Green List to the Mediterranean marine context. Scientific papers, grey literature and reports were surveyed to identify international and national frameworks for assessing MPA effectiveness.
Of the over 1,700 documents collected in the initial search, 253 abstracts were screened and 143 documents were finally selected for full-text review. This review yielded over 300 distinct insights to support the clarity and applicability of the Green List standard in marine areas.
Gathered insights from Green Listed MPAs
To supplement the literature review, the project interviewed the teams of 8 Green Listed MPAs. These interviews focused on the application of the Green List in the marine context. This helped build a better understanding on the technical and procedural challenges and enablers for the application of the Green List in MPAs.
Surveyed MPA managers
A survey was designed and circulated with MPA managers to gather their feedback on the draft guidance and notes for the application of the Green List standard to Mediterranean MPAs.
The survey was sent out to a diverse group of MPAs, including nationally designated areas, Natura 2000 sites, and international designations, across all seven Mediterranean ecoregions.
45 MPA managers from 10 Mediterranean countries responded. This included respondents from EU countries (Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro, Greece, and Cyprus) as well as non-EU Mediterranean countries (Tunisia and Türkiye).
Consulted at the National level
The project is organising a series of National Focus Group meetings across six Mediterranean countries: Albania, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy and Spain.
These meetings bring together key national stakeholders involved in MPA management, including MPA managers, authorities, and experts, who contribute their valuable first-hand experience and insights. Their input helps shape the project’s outputs to better reflect the realities and needs of each national context. The involvement of MPA managers is particularly important as they will be the ones ultimately applying the IUCN Green List Standard.
During the meetings, the project presents the draft guidance and notes developed for applying the Green List in MPAs, as well as feedback collected through the stakeholder survey.
By engaging directly with national stakeholders, the project ensures that the guidance is co-developed with those who know the region best, making it both practical and relevant to the diverse national contexts of the Mediterranean.
ACTIVITY 2
Establishing an Expert Group for Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas
The GreenList4MMPAs project is supporting the creation and organization of an EAGL focused on Mediterranean MPAs (Med MPA EAGL).
So far, the project has:
Launched the first Mediterranean Marine Green List expert group
The Mediterranean Marine Expert Assessment Group for the Green List (EAGL) was formed during a meeting held in May 2025 in Málaga, Spain. The expert group is composed of 11 members from across Mediterranean with diverse backgrounds in MPA management and research.
The Marine Mediterranean EAGL will fulfil the role of assessing MPAs that apply to join the IUCN Green List, as well as supporting the activities of the GreenList4MMPAs project.
