At the invitation of the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Protected Areas Network (MedPAN), Reef-World representative James (JJ) Harvey was invited to join the regional exchange workshop in Izola, Slovenia. The workshop was titled ‘MPAs facing pollution in the Mediterranean: thinking beyond boundaries’ . The event took place over four days (from 28th November to 1st December 2017). This workshop allowed the Partner and Member states of the Network to share best practice on the design and implementation of specific management strategies associated with mitigating the amount of marine litter entering the Mediterranean Sea. Intertwined with the INTERREG funded ACT4LITTER project, a series of workshops were conducted under a variety of thematic areas. On behalf of Reef-World, James Harvey was invited to present on the Green Fins initiative under the wider theme of ‘Clean-up initiatives: Engaging stakeholders and promoting co-responsibility.’
Showcasing the work of Green Fins members and the programme’s other stakeholders, primarily governments in South East Asia, the MedPAN presentation titled ‘Green Fins: An approach to sustainable diving and snorkelling’ allowed Mediterranean MPA practitioners to better understand how the Green Fins approach can be used as a tool to engage the scuba diving businesses operating within their parks to better manage the impacts from marine litter, notably plastics. There was much engagement and lots of questions following the presentation. There was particular interest from Spain, Italy and Croatia.
Reef-World is currently looking at ways to implement the Green Fins approach into the Mediterranean region with support from the UN Regional Seas Conventions and Actions Plans (RSCA) via the Mediterranean Action Pan (MAP) and associated departments.
If you are a dive centre based in the Mediterranean and are interested in joining Green Fins to help reduce your environmental impact and improve the sustainability of your business, then please get in touch via info@greenfins.net
