SHAREMED 1st Workshop

WORKSHOP ORGANISERS
Physical Oceanography Research Group	Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale
University of Malta	Cosimo Solidoro (Project Leader)
Aldo Drago (aldo.drago@um.edu.mt)	Marina Lipizer (mlipizer@inogs.it)

PROJECT INTRO: SHAREMED is an Interreg MED Strategic Project led by OGS – Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics, born from the specific request of the Med Secretariat and with the specific goal to define and test the implementation of a transnational and multi-level system of observing systems, able to assess and address environmental threats in the Mediterranean Sea and along its coasts. The project answers need to be identified in the framework of the Interreg Med gap analysis, and targets both the scientific and the governance components required in the definition and testing of the systems.

ShareMED is intended to support regional, sub-regional and local authorities, and the research community to jointly assess and address hazards related to the increasing presence of pollutants and coexisting environmental threats in the Mediterranean Sea. The project will be proposing a design of the future Mediterranean marine observatories and monitoring systems for assessing environmental risks as a co-ordinated and trans-national effort.

WHAT:
The workshop is intended to bring together leading experts and representatives of major international projects and initiatives relevant to the Mediterranean Sea in the framework of ocean observing systems intended to address major marine environmental threats. The main goals are to:

share knowledge and expertise required to design a transnational joint observing system of systems to address environmental threats and pollution in the Mediterranean, and
establish new and further consolidate existing collaborations to address common challenges. This is fundamental to synergise efforts and engage in the capitalisation of existing initiatives, arrangements and ongoing activities for joint planning, co-design of fit for purpose observations and their integration into common assessments with effective governance frameworks.

This effort forms part of the cross-cutting project activities of SHAREMED and the mainstream project goals on capitalisation. This process builds on practices, recommendations & guidelines, conducive to long term strategies, contributing to transnational governance, implementation of EU directives (Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Common Fishery Policy, Marine Spatial Planning Directive) and supporting other EU initiatives (BLUEMED, EUSAIR, WESTMED), international programs (UNEP-MAP/MARPOL), and networking initiatives. The knowledge conveyed by the participating project coordinators will contribute to identify the state of the art, gaps, best practise and long-term strategies, supporting the overarching goals of SHAREMED, and will contribute to the identification of strategies and roadmaps.

HOW: The workshop will be organized online over two successive days, 3-4 hours each.

Day I - Learning from the past: in order to build a common understanding, invited speakers will be requested to share their experience and views on:

Session I: What are the main environmental threats being currently addressed in the Mediterranean Sea?

Session II: Are we organised enough to monitor the marine environment and assess its threats?

Total time: 3-3.5 hours, including final discussion for each session.

Day II - Designing the future: Day II will be organised in the form of back to back roundtables. The focus of the roundtables will be to take stock of Day I, and to elaborate on the main environmental threats and pollution hazards in the Mediterranean, and on how we can quantify, monitor and assess these threats by integrated and effective observations as well as transboundary cooperation, joint complementary efforts and effective governance.

ROUNDTABLE 1
Challenges posed by the main threats to the Mediterranean marine ecosystem; how can such threats be monitored and mitigated; which are the bottlenecks?

ROUNDTABLE 2
Design of a transnational joint observing system of systems; available technologies and tools; how to monitor the coastal domain and at ecosystem level.

ROUNDTABLE 3
Assessing the existing governance structures for environmental monitoring and recommending the changes needed for a more effective and efficient management of environmental threats; role of national systems at local and regional scales; recommendations for long term sustainability.

Total time: 4 hours, including discussion time for each roundtable.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES:

Consensus on the main threats to the Mediterranean marine ecosystem;
First step towards the identification of best practices for the design of a transnational joint observing system of systems;
Establishment of a cooperation framework to promote efficient management of environmental threats;
Recommendations for governance and long term sustainability.

PARTICIPANTS:
The workshop is open to a wide participation and it will be possible to make comments and questions through the online chat.