Covering 87,500 km2 between France, Monaco and Italy, the Pelagos Sanctuary is the first cross-border Mediterranean area dedicated to the protection of marine mammals.
Mediterranean cross-border area dedicated to the protection of marine mammals.
This area, particularly rich in plankton, is home to a remarkable biodiversity, including a large concentration of different species of whales and dolphins.
In 2021, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (PA2F), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International Union of the United Nations. (WWF), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas Network (MedP). Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MedPAN) are joining together to create the Pelagos Initiative.
This civil society engagement will fund activities for the protection, conservation and promotion of the Sanctuary. promotion of the Sanctuary, to support the implementation of the Pelagos Agreement. management plan.
The Pelagos Sanctuary is a Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) that contains habitats of threatened species and is of scientific, aesthetic, cultural and educational interest. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Barcelona Convention, states have committed to the Aïchi 11: 10% target for effective protection of the sea in 2020. A target of 30% MPAs and MCEAs by 2030 is currently under discussion.

And despite the creation of some sites, the target is still far from being reached. is still far from being reached: today less than 9% of the Mediterranean Sea is theoretically under a protected status. The Pelagos Sanctuary alone accounts for 38.9% of the protected area.
The Pelagos Initiative, with the mobilisation of civil society and stakeholders, will be able to act as a lever to strengthen the protection of the Sanctuary. The territory of the Pelagos Sanctuary extends far beyond the coastal zone and the strengthening of its protection could become an example for the management of marine protected areas in the open sea.