PIM

SMALL ISLANDS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

Protected by their relative inaccessibility, the islands are the last refuges of a nature that has been abused on the coast. In the Mediterranean, there are nearly 15,000 islands and islets, including more than 1,000 in the western basin. Their small size and simplified ecosystems are reactive to the slightest disturbance, making the islands fragile and threatened areas. Despite their ecological importance, many of them have never been studied and very few are officially managed. The Mediterranean Small Islands Initiative (PIM) is an international NGO promoting and assisting in the management of Mediterranean island areas. Its objective is the preservation of these micro-spaces through the implementation of concrete actions on the ground, by promoting the exchange of know-how and knowledge between protectors and specialists of the Mediterranean basin. Initiated in 2005 by the Conservatoire du Littoral, the PIM Initiative’s approach gives priority to simple and pragmatic solutions. Organizing meetings and stimulating exchanges between nature protection stakeholders, capitalizing on and disseminating know-how are the main lines of its action.

For more than 10 years, it has brought together hundreds of multidisciplinary experts, site managers, coastal guards, institutions and ONGs from the Mediterranean basin, who compare and exchange their ideas and experiences for better managed and better protected island areas. The PIM Initiative accompanies and coordinates the monitoring of small Mediterranean islands, to improve their knowledge, management and preservation. Sustainable assistance and actions are carried out in the medium and long term in partnership with local stakeholders (support for the drafting of management plans, training workshops, naturalist inventories, experiments in ecological engineering …)

Within the framework of its activities, the PIM Initiative has collected numerous administrative, geographical, environmental and naturalist data on the small islands of the Mediterranean. The accumulated knowledge on the island territories is gathered in a database (a generalist database and a naturalist database) which allows to obtain a detailed description for each island.

Three Small Mediterranean Islands have been the subject of scientific studies by Andromeda Oceanology and are presented in this project. These studies were led by the Conservatoire du littoral and were financially supported by the RMC Water Agency. They concern the Galite archipelago (Tunisia, 2010), the island of Zembra (Tunisia, 2010), and the MPA of Tavolara – Punta Coda Cavallo (Sardinia, 2012). You can find them on the platform by clicking on the button “Access to maps” just below and you will find the maps of marine habitats, illustrations and a range of sonar and bathymetric data.