The Mediterranean basin is a crucial biodiversity hotspot. Unfortunately, human activities and the overuse of natural resources are causing ecosystem degradation and species loss at an alarming rate. These threats require a coordinated transnational approach. COASTRUST aims to sustainably use, manage, protect, or restore species, habitats, or ecosystems with the involvement of stakeholders from connected economic sectors and citizens, in line with the European policy framework promoting participatory approaches to foster biodiversity conservation.
In addition to protected areas and their harmonized management, the project focuses on environmental stewardship as a governance form that acts at the local and community levels, reflecting the increasing influence of environmental principles on economic sectors. COASTRUST applies environmental stewardship to coastal areas facing human-induced pressures and establishes multistakeholder governance mechanisms to support the management of natural resources at land and sea.
The project works at the strategic methodological level by enabling environmental stewardship and releasing a methodology for further transferring the COASTRUST approach beyond the project scope, benefiting every Mediterranean citizen. It also acts at the implementation level by supporting and monitoring pilot activities development. For each target area, a coastal stewardship strategy and a set of actions are developed according to specificities, needs, and environmental objectives such as the structure of the local economy, stakeholders, natural assets, and more.
The project was launched on January 1st, 2024, and will be implemented until September 30th, 2026. It involves the collaboration of nine partners from Greece, Italy, Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, and Malta, who will work together to ensure the project’s success. This project was approved as part of the 2nd call of the Transnational Cooperation Program Interreg Euro-MED 2021-2027. It is co-financed by the European Union, and all information about the project’s activities will be available on its website, which will be available soon.
For more information or inquiries, please contact: Panagiota Saranti – EU Project Manager & Researcher (lead partner – Region of Western Greece) email: psaranti@gmail.com and Emirjeta Adhami – Project coordinator, (partner – Institute for Nature Conservation in Albania) email: emiadhami@gmail.com
