small Islands initiative and projects

There are almost 15,000 islands and islets in the Mediterranean Sea, of which more than 1000 of which are located in the sole western basin. These ecosystems, living laboratories of plant and animal life, shelter a large number of species, and provide a great resource for the protection of the Mediterranean biodiversity. In these isolated microcosms everything is accentuated: tourist pressure, climate change, pollutions, and invasive species among others. The slightest disturbance can unbalance the natural equilibrium of these highly-structured ecosystems that has established over many centuries. However, only 35 archipelagos are officially managed and many others have not yet even been studied. The Coastal Protection Agency (Conservatoire du Littoral), by coordinating the Mediterranean Small Islands Initiative, contributes to the protection of these microcosms by setting-up practical measures for conservation management, and by facillitating the exchange of information and experience between the site managers (administrators) and experts from across the Mediterranean Basin.