Covering 87,500 km2 between France, Monaco and Italy, the Pelagos Sanctuary is the first transboundary area in the Mediterranean dedicated to the protection of marine mammals. The area, particularly rich in plankton, is home to a remarkable biodiversity, including several species of whales and dolphins.<\/p>\n
The Pelagos initiative was launched in 2021 by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (PA2F), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas Network (MedPAN). This partnership between some of the key civil society players in the Mediterranean funds and promotes activities for the protection, conservation and awareness of the Sanctuary, with the goal to support the implementation of the management<\/a> plan of the Pelagos Agreement, established by the three countries responsible for the Sanctuary: France, Italy and Monaco.<\/p>\n The Mediterranean basin has been identified as climate-risk hotspot by the IPCC, with air and sea temperatures rising faster than in other regions, and with increasingly frequent marine heat waves, droughts and coastal flooding. When effectively managed, Marine Protected Areas can act as nature-based solutions, increasing the resilience of marine organisms and ecosystems to climate change<\/a>. The higher the protection, the better will organisms and ecosystems be able to cope and continue to sustain productive fishing grounds and other ecosystem services<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition to protecting ecosystems, restoring degraded habitats, including blue carbon ecosystems such as Posidonia seagrass beds, can be part of the solution to adapt to climate change<\/a>. More recently, the value of preserving large marine mammals such as whales has been put forward in the context of climate change<\/a>. A whale could sequester up to 33 tons of CO2 during its lifetime, and the average value of a whale in terms of ecosystem services<\/a> has been estimated at 2 million dollars.<\/p>\n Within the framework of the Pelagos Initiative, the UBS Optimus Foundation and UBS Monaco are joining forces with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation to support projects within the Sanctuary with a specific focus on climate action.<\/p>\n Themes of the \u201cClimate Action\u201d call for projects:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n This call for projects encourages submissions of projects that may include knowledge acquisition, conservation and restauration measures, lobbying\/advocacy or awareness raising<\/a> projects. For example:<\/p>\n Eligibility criteria:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Coordinating Committee will select projects according to the criteria below:<\/p>\n Project selection process and timeline:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n To apply:<\/strong><\/p>\n Please download and complete the Pre-application form.<\/p>\n The application must be sent before\u00a021 May 2023<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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\u200bHow to submit your project:<\/h3>\n
1. Download the form<\/h2>\n