In 1981 Mediterranean governments commited themselves to creating a large network of specially-protected marine areas (SPAs) and agreed on a first text of a related protocol for signature the following year.

Among the purposes of this action was to protect the breeding grounds of commercially exploitable fish and shellfish, to protect Mediterranean species of flora and fauna, and to keep bathing waters and beaches safe and healthy for tourists. The protected areas were also to be used for 'baseline studies' of ecosystems by which to measure progress and compare environmental conditions in the future. They would preseve wintering homes for migratory birds, and serve as pools of genetic diversity.

Since that time several regional programmes have set up their own coastal and marine protected areas, and regional activity centres to administer them. Three of these have, like the Mediterranean, adopted protocols concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW): the Caribbean, South-East Pacific and Eastern Africa.

In the Mediterranean, an amended and updated Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean was adopted by the Contracting Parties in June 1995. The Protocol notably calls for the establishment of a list of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) in order to conserve biodiversity and to contain specific Mediterranean ecosystems. Related measures include, protection and conservation of species, regulation of the introduction of non-indigenous or genetically modified species, and the improvement of the scientific, technical, and management research relevant to Specially Protected Areas.

Protected sites in the Mediterranean now number in the hundreds. In the South-East Pacific National Marine Biodiversity studies are being prepared to help identify marine ecosystems of high biodiversity as a basis for creation of new protected areas. The Caribbean programmes includes management plans for endangered species, and guidelines for ecotourism and for the identification, establishment and management of protected areas.

Protected area links:
Mediterranean | Wider Caribbean