22 January 2014: The PEGASO project of the European Commission (EC) recently held its final conference. PEGASO, or ‘People for Ecosystem-based Governance in Assessing Sustainable development of Ocean and Coast,’ focused on supporting integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Basins.

The meeting, which took place in Antalya, Turkey, from 14-17 January 2014, addressed: the ICZM Regional Governance Platform in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; the ICZM/marine spatial planning policies in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; and the future of PEGASO.

The four-year project aimed to: develop innovative methods and approaches to implement the ICZM Protocol for the Mediterranean that was ratified by the Contracting Parties of the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution (Barcelona Convention); and explore the feasibility of developing a similar policy document for the Black Sea countries.

According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), one of the project partners, the ICZM processes in the region recognized several research gaps for which a number of tools were needed. PEGASO provided easy-to-use tools for final users, to help them make science-based decisions that promoted the sustainable development of the coastal and marine areas of the two basins, thereby bridging the gap between science and policy-making.

In the framework of the project, IOC-UNESCO led the development of a methodology for integrated regional assessment of coastal and marine areas that can be replicated for assessments in other regions.

Participants at the final meeting of PEGASO included representatives of the UN Environment Programme – Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP-MAP), the Permanent Secretariat for the Black Sea Commission, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and networks from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. [PEGASO Website] [UNESCO Press Release] [PEGASO Final Conference Website]