Pathways to making peace with nature in the Mediterranean - Panel 2: Promising solutions.

Marine Protected Areas are considered as Nature-Based Solutions. This session will present initiatives to strengthen the network of protected areas in the Mediterranean, including the new strategy being developed by SPA/RAC under the Barcelona Convention. REMPEC will present the proposal to designate the Mediterranean as an Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides under the MARPOL Convention and to cap the sulphur content in fuel oil used on board ships to 0.10 %, which would come with a raft of health and environmental benefits. The bycatch of vulnerable species is one of the main threats to biodiversity. The event will present findings and processes developed within the MedBycatch project and discuss solutions to reduce bycatch. IUCN-Med will present projects tackling the marine plastic issue at different levels. Lefteris Arapakis will share his initiative with fishing communities to collect marine plastic that is 60% integrated into the circular economy and turned into new products.