Partnership
The project was coordinated by CORILA and implemented by a consortium of national authorities, research institutions and regional organisations from France, Italy, Malta and Spain.
Key partners:
- CEREMA
- Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR)
- Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO)
- French Biodiversity Agency
- Ministry of Environment, Protection of the Territories and the Sea (Italy)
- Malta Environment and Planning Authority
- Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (Italy)
- Shom
- UNEP/MAP Coordinating Unit, with INFO/RAC and PAP/RAC
Key objectives
SIMWESTMED aimed to strengthen both the technical and governance dimensions of MSP, with a particular focus on transboundary cooperation and coherence among the EU member states in the Western Mediterranean.
In particular, it aimed to:
- improve understanding of maritime uses, pressures and future trends
- identify spatial demands of key sectors and support conflict resolution and synergies
- address data gaps and improve data sharing and coherence across borders
- develop methodologies for transboundary MSP
- promote mechanisms for cross-border cooperation and stakeholder engagement in the Western Mediterranean
- support the consistent application of MSP processes across participating countries
Main results
SIMWESTMED generated a shared knowledge base and practical experiences that supported coordinated MSP implementation across the Western Mediterranean.
The main results include:
- improved data availability and coherence supporting MSP analyses
- identification of spatial demands, conflicts and opportunities for multi-use
- strengthened approaches to transboundary cooperation and stakeholder engagement
- application of tools and methodologies supporting MSP processes
- implementation of pilot case studies addressing MSP challenges in transboundary contexts
Role of PAP/RAC
Within the SIMWESTMED project, PAP/RAC contributed to strengthening the integration of MSP with ICZM and broader policy frameworks, with a focus on land–sea interactions, cross-sector coordination and regional coherence.
In particular, PAP/RAC contributed to key analytical and methodological outputs, including work on the relationship between land–sea interactions (LSI) and ICZM, coordination of sectoral policies, and the development of case studies in the Tyrrhenian area and Var County. It also supported the formulation of recommendations aimed at building a common regional understanding of MSP.
Through these contributions, PAP/RAC helped establish a practical and methodological basis for addressing land–sea interactions and improving policy coordination within MSP processes, while supporting more coherent and aligned implementation of MSP across the Western Mediterranean in line with the Barcelona Convention framework.
