Ecosystem services, socio-economic values and organizational profiles of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas

The study outlines a methodological and cognitive framework for assessing the direct and indirect socio-economic benefits associated with the presence of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Mediterranean. To reach the scope we identified some key socio-economic and organizational dimensions of MPAs that can affect the effectiveness of marine and coastal ecosystem conservation strategies. Highlighting the importance of organizational and socio-economic assessment can generate increasing interest from key stakeholders and raise political support. This process can be particularly useful for existing and future MPAs that are less institutionally and organizationally developed, particularly in those Mediterranean countries where marine conservation is still at a very early stage of development. Our research context is represented by the Mediterranean MPAs. We have identified eight Mediterranean countries (Italy, France, Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Tunisia, Algeria) that we considered to have the representative features of much of the Mediterranean area. Once we identified macro national contexts, to use a multiple case study analysis approach we selected six MPAs on the base of the criteria of feasibility, environmental performance and degree of comparability. We believe they are interesting cases of study for the application of our pilot methodology. The selected sites are Egadi Islands, Telašćica Nature Park, Torre Guaceto MPA, Gouraya National Park, Taza National Park and Tabarka Marine and Coastal Protected Area. Three of these (the European ones) are existing MPAs, while the other three (the non-European ones) are still in the phase of finalizing the institutional process to create the MPA. The first chapter defines the purpose of the study and the theoretical framework for the research. This is followed by a brief outline of the methodology applied; full details of the methodology and the study questionnaires are included as an appendix. Emerging findings from the case studies are presented and analysed in chapter 3, along with lessons learnt. This is followed by a conclusion. Detailed descriptions of each of the six case studies and related findings are included as an annex.