Marine Protected Areas as an Ecosystem: Man, Fish, and Cave
Ecosystem. A word we hear used more and more and which will surely not leave our vocabularies anytime soon. But what is it about specifically?
Continuing to explore the island of Marettimo, where in July 2021 we will host our Food and Climate Shaper Boot Camp, with the support of the FAO eLearning Academy, during which we will talk about sustainable fishing and resilient communities, focusing on a concrete ecosystem example — the Marine Protected Area (MPA).
Marine protected areas are a small ecosystem. In fact, as Director Livrei of the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area tells us, “We protect the grouper as well as the fisherman. We take care of the cave as well as the flower on top of Pizzo Falcone.” Ecosystems are composed of different protagonists and characters that make them alive with the characteristics of that place. To keep them intact, to accompany biodiversity, and avoid abrupt changes (I invite you to read article #3), here is where Marine Protected Areas come into play. But how is this done?
Let’s start with fishing. Fishing is a human activity, that if not done properly, causes enormous damage to local ecosystems. “More than one-third of the world’s fish stocks are overfished,” warns the FAO. And as WWF makes clear, “Whether they are off the coast of Alaska, Madagascar, or Indonesia, abundant fish populations are critical to the survival of countless communities and thousands of wildlife species. Fish provide critical nourishment and economic security for us on land, while stitching together food webs beneath the ocean’s surface.” Marine Protected Areas are established through the awareness and recognition of the fragility of their places and the prevention or limitation of human activities that may damage or deplete marine biodiversities, such as industrial and intensive fishing practices, including fishing that use trawls, but also aquaculture and fish farming. To fish in these areas, it is necessary to have a fishing permit that is strictly controlled.
Ecosystems are also composed of flora and fauna and, contrary to what you might think, the flora is present even under the water! The Posidonia is the most widespread aquatic plant in the Egadi archipelago, as it is in the rest of the Mediterranean, providing fundamental functions in maintaining the local ecosystem. The Posidonia, a real water meadow, with its presence brakes the wave preventing coastal erosion. It also functions as a nursery, or maternity ward of the sea, providing shelter to various fish species. Today, unfortunately, 34% of Posidonia has disappeared from the Mediterranean coasts, as WWF reports in its 2019 Briefing. From the perspective of climate change, which involves the increase of CO2 in the air, we must remember that this ‘sea meadow’ is a great store of carbon, therefore important that it remains to cover the soil of our seas. The animal population is equally important. The Marine Protected Area takes care of particularly fragile animal species that have been damaged more or less directly by man. Marettimo hosts in fact the hospital center for turtles, open to the public, taking care of turtles that have been damaged by weapons or lense.
Last, equally important, and not to be taken for granted inhabitants of the ecosystems are us, humans. It is interesting how Director Livrei gives as much importance to humans as he does to the caves or the local flora and fauna. They are all important inhabitants. It is due to this mutual respect that, in the Egadi MPA, energy sustainability projects are underway: “We are converting fleets and buildings to other types of energy consumption. Three offices, thanks to the use of solar panels, are now self-sufficient. We have two electric vehicles and a hybrid boat, which we use for research. We are on the right track,” says the director Livrei of the Egadi MPA.
It would be a mistake to consider man only in his “technical” dimension, as Umberto Galimberti wrote in “Psyche and Technique. Man in the Age of Technology.” We are also made of other things, of aspects that capture our identity, our values, the meaning we give to things. These anthropological aspects are fundamental and are widely considered in the social projects implemented by the MPA of the Egadi Islands. There are several projects undertaken with neighboring communities such as the Italy-Malta project on artisanal fishing or even the project with the Kneiss Islands in Tunisia with young women involved in collecting clams to improve working conditions.
These three macro areas: fishing, flora and fauna, and human presence, are held together by the MPA, which in each project ensures that there is consistency between them. An ecosystem that is not closed but that communicates with the outside, managing to guarantee an internal balance. Unfortunately, as WWF reports, only 2.8% of the Mediterranean Sea is covered by MPAs with an effective management plan and only 0.03% of the Mediterranean Sea is covered by fully protected areas, where any activity is completely forbidden. We must therefore push for more ambitious projects, but also and above all, more sustainable ones in which all stakeholders feel truly involved in the protection of these delicate ecosystems.
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