The The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, through the Biodiversity Foundation, today participated in the NEXT-MED Conference, which brought together in Rome all the entities that develop projects funded by the ENPI (European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument) programme, a financing tool linked to the cross-border cooperation initiatives of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

The conference shared the experiences of each of the projects and addressed the priorities for the next edition of this programme, which by then will be called ENI (European Neighbourhood Instrument).

The Biodiversity Foundation has participated as an entity that coordinates the ENPI Ecosafit project, an initiative in which, in addition to Spain, Tunisia and Italy participate.  The purpose of this project is to promote responsible fishing practices in the Mediterranean, as well as to encourage the exchange of information among the parties involved to achieve habitat conservation.
 
Previously, on 9 and 10 December, the ENPI-Ecosafimed Management Committee met in Genoa to address and evaluate all the issues involved in the development of the project. During this first year of the project, study areas with a low trawl impact have been selected, as well as the artisanal fisheries present. For each of these areas, the study of a particular métier has been defined: the combination of the use of a fishing gear for the capture of a species in a given area.  Likewise, 3 oceanographic campaigns have also been carried out in the countries involved and a technical seminar has been held for the exchange of scientific knowledge in the exploitation of the information obtained in these campaigns.

All this has been complemented with dissemination actions through the website (http://ecosafimed.eu/) and other informative materials that will be distributed among the fishermen involved in the project.

Up to 76 territories in the Mediterranean area are represented in the European ENPI programme, encompassing 110 million people. The participating countries are Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, the Palestinian Authority, Portugal, Syria, Tunisia and Spain. Its objectives include the promotion of the socio-economic development of the territories encompassed, environmental sustainability and the promotion of cultural dialogue between the different regions. To this end, different institutions and organizations are involved, from local authorities to NGOs, research institutes to development cooperation agencies and universities.