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Add to Preferred SourcesThe marine and coastal ecosystems of the Mediterranean are under considerable anthropic pressure. AFD is participating in the effort to remedy this situation with a €4 million grant to a trust fund dedicated to strengthening protected marine areas.
A funding agreement was signed on 25 July at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Agence Française de Développement (AFD) will be contributing €4 million to the fund’s capital.
Created at the initiative of Tunisia, Monaco and France, The MedFund is an environmental trust fund: the capital is invested in the financial markets in line with a responsible investment strategy and the interest generated is used to fund activities in the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) of the Mediterranean.
AFD thus joins a number of other major donors: the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco, the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Government of Monaco.
The Mediterranean Sea is one of thirty-five “hot spots” identified by the NGO Conservation International, one where almost 10% of the world’s marine biodiversity is concentrated in less than 1% of the ocean surface, with a high rate of endemism.
The main objective of AFD’s contribution to the capital of The MedFund is therefore to contribute to the sustainability and effectiveness of the MPAs of the Mediterranean countries eligible for official development assistance (ODA) by providing permanent funding, mainly for activities that currently receive little or no funding and which are line with the implementation of their management plan.
Accordingly, some twenty marine protected areas in Tunisia, Morocco, Albania, Algeria, Montenegro, Lebanon and Turkey will receive support over the coming years with their efforts to preserve marine ecosystems.
In line with its commitment in favor of the climate, AFD’s contribution means that that the actions taken will facilitate the adaptation of ecosystems and communities to the effects of climate change and, in some cases, increase carbon sequestration (by protecting Posidonia meadows, for example).
The AFD group is increasing its activities in favor of the preservation of biodiversity. Over the period 2013-2017, the average amount of its funding commitments in this area amounted to €252 million a year. In 2018, it reached €446 million.
Original source: AFD
Published on 25 July 2019