Italo-Maltese harmonization for a good state of the environment: seafloor integrity and interaction with invasive species to preserve the functioning of marine ecosystems

Programme 2014 - 2020 INTERREG V-A Italy - Malta

Date of latest update: 2023-03-09

Description

Description (EN):

HARMONY aims at harmonising a set of monitoring and control measures between the two cross-border countries, Italy and Malta, in order to share and integrated framework of knowledge and coordinated intervention strategies on: 1) the integrity of marine seafloor and the inhabiting species, 2) the effects of habitat fragmentation in facilitating the diffusion of Non-Indigenous Species (NIS). By integrating these two aspects, HARMONY will reach a better understanding of marine ecosystem functioning in a cross-border context thus resulting: a) integrated interventions and measures of monitoring with the aim to suggest management plans of Natura 2000 sites and habitats. b) set of outputs which will be promoted by HARMONY are integrated to produce a common strategy and develop common EDRR tools (Early Detection & Rapid Response), develop innovative high resolution data recording sensors, or monitoring networks based on participatory processes (e.g. citizen science) that will allow to: - activate control measures to reduce the likelihood of alteration due to the alien species spread and the seafloor integrity at sites of high ecological (biodiversity) and socio-economic value (Nature 2000 sites), - align policy actions between the two countries, - foster the effectiveness of generated management strategies and lastly , - create a common permanent governance structure of Italo-Maltese cross-border EDRR.

Achievements (EN):

THE PARTICIPATORY PROCESS IS FINISHED AND IT RELEASED TWO PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE IN THE CROSS BORDER AREA: With Harmony project remodulation, due Covid 19 emergency, the participatory process for the definition of common policies related to project topics i.e. seabed integrity and non-indigenous species has resumed its path developing through online participatory events and co design activity instead of the first phase activities held in presence. Internal and external stakeholder of the Harmony project have been actively involved in a cycle of online events in October, November and December 2020. In particular the following activities have been carried out: Intersectorial Forum, Online Focus, Three Co design laboratory. The format of the online events has provided an interactive discussion space, developed on a free web platform, on the topics under discussion, both planned interventions by project staff and free contributions by participants. The spaces of comparison and discussion have been enriched and multiplied by operational support activity on a cloud space. Participants could actively contribute to the process of co-design and drafting of shared documents (process outputs) on the topics focused and proposed by Harmony. Online events directly involved about 50 entities representing public and private organizations, belonging to different sectors and areas of activity, but with the common interest of monitoring and surveillance of NIS as well as the protection of seabed status of the Mediterranean. Appropriate multi-level information and communication action has been deployed in order to support of online activities, using both direct mailing and phone calling tools for the information and engagement phase, both the social channels and the website for dissemination and post-information activities. The online participatory path involved different kind of stakeholders as well as Harmony project partners. Different types of specific actors have been selected from the stakeholder map in order to promote the institutional net of collaboration in the policy harmonization process. Anyway all mapped stakeholders were continuously informed about contents and objectives of the participatory path In addition to the Italo-Maltese partnership, the meetings actively involved Marine Protected Areas and the Natura 2000 managers. They have played a crucial role in promoting the path of Harmony with actors in the Blue Economy chain (local managers of diving and beaches, fishing cooperatives, etc.). Besides Costal Guard people were also present Further it was very profitable the presence of Sicilian Department of Territory and Environment which contributed to the achievement of a concrete project output, i.e. the planning of shared measures and actions for the elaboration of Natura 2000 Priority Action Framework for Sicily (PAF). In particular the measures and the actions proposed concerned formalisation of surveillance network, definition of training models and protocols as well as update of monitoring protocols As is often in the dynamics of participatory decision-making, Elaboration of measures and actions for the PAF was an "unexpected outcome" compared to what was expected from the Harmony Project; this because the joint elaboration of actions for the PAF was not only the product of a mere methodological experimentation but a decision-making output that has a concrete impact on the processes of operational planning of biodiversity protection local policies. The process of PAF joint elaboration has further proved to be a driving force for the shared elaboration of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) scheme for network promotion aimed at harmonising policy instruments for the protection of biodiversity across borders. The MoU scheme constitues the main result expected by Harmony project: it is both a potential instrument of project results capitalization (knowledge and technologies to improve marine biodiversity protection policies, with particular reference to the implementation of a coordinated system of Early Warning and Rapid Response for the control of indigenous species and the status of the seabed) and it represents and important statement of participatory process. They can provide an added in the management of shared policies and collaborative governance, mainly because in intensifying of operational exchanges and the comparison of visions, they can help to increase the degree of mutual knowledge between the actors, facilitate the development of potential conflict or overlap and thereby raise the level of confidence in the functioning of the whole governance system. The process outcome, therefore, suggests a more systematic and widespread application of this methodology even beyond the conclusion of the Harmony project, both in the processes of harmonisation of policies, technologies and operational processes, both in building collaborative platforms to support governance.

Website: https://italiamalta.eu/?lang=en

Expected Results (EN): A Joint action plan for biodiversity protection

Expected Outputs (EN):

N. 1 Inventory of cross-border biodiversity in Natura 2000 sites and Habitats. N. 1 Technical guidelines to improve and harmonize the management processes of the integrity of the functional backdrops. N. 141 protected sites able to apply common policy management tools useful for improving monitoring and control systems of the integrity of the seabed. N. 50 entities involved in the participatory network of the Common Policies for monitoring and control of the integrity of the seabed.

Thematic information

Coastal management and maritime issues Regional planning and development

Specific Objective: To contribute towards the arrest of the loss of terrestrial and marine biodiversity in the area, maintain and reactivate the ecosystem and the protected area

Thematic Objective: (06) preserving and protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency by:

Investment Priority: (06d) Protecting and restoring biodiversity and soil and promoting ecosystem services, including through Natura 2000, and green infrastructure

Partners (7)

Lead Partner: Universita degli studi di Palermo

Department: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare

Address: Via Archirafi 22,, 90123 Palermo, Italy

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.unipa.it

Total budget: EUR 433 058.00

ERDF budget: EUR 367 099.30

Environment and Resources Authority

Name: Environment and Resources Authority

Department: Environment Directorate/ Biodiversity Unit

Address: Hexagon House, Spencer Hill, MRS 1441 Marsa, Malta

Legal status: public

Website: www.era.org.mt

Total budget: EUR 50 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 42 500.00

Ministry for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change

Name: Ministry for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change

Department: Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture

Address: Ghammieri, Ngiered Road Marsa, MRS 3303 Marsa, Malta

Legal status: public

Website: www.msdec.gov.mt

Total budget: EUR 130 550.00

ERDF budget: EUR 110 967.50

University of Malta

Name: University of Malta

Department: Faculty of Science/ Department of Geosciences

Address: University of Malta, Msida, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta

Legal status: public

Website: www.um.edu.mt

Total budget: EUR 350 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 297 500.00

Regione Siciliana

Name: Regione Siciliana

Department: Dipartimento della Pesca Mediterranea

Address: Via degli Emiri, 90145 Palermo, Italy

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.regione.sicilia.it

Total budget: EUR 50 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 42 500.00

Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale

Name: Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale

Department: Uso sostenibile delle risorse

Address: Via Salvatore Puglisi 9, 90143 Palermo, Italy

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.isprambiente.it

Total budget: EUR 340 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 289 000.00

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Name: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Department: Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino

Address: Via Luigi Vaccara 61, 91026 Mazara del Vallo, Italy

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.cnr.it

Total budget: EUR 260 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 221 000.00

Partners map

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Italo-Maltese harmonization for a good state of the environment: seafloor integrity and interaction with invasive species to preserve the functioning of marine ecosystems

Project name (IT): Armonizzazione Italo-Maltese per un buono stato dell’ambiente: integrità dei fondali ed interazione con le specie invasive per preservare il funzionamento degli ecosistemi marini

Project acronym: HARMONY

Project start date: 2018-02-28

Project end date: 2021-02-27

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 1 613 608.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 1 370 566.80

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 85.00%

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, .

Documents

Documents on this project are listed below, and organised by category. Please note field "Data source", attached to each document. Keep.eu users are free to use these documents as long as they mention the data source and keep.eu.

Brochures / magazines / manuals

Conoscenza Ecologica Locale delle specie aliene e dei fondali marini nelle aree marine italo-maltesi (Italian brochure)

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Brochure / magazine / manual

Data source: https://www.harmony-italiamalta.eu/index_it.html

Publication date: 2021-12-06

Document date: 2019-02-28

Languages: it

Attachment file: Download

Media releases / articles

Environment authority in fight against alien species

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Media release / article

Data source: https://www.harmony-italiamalta.eu/index_it.html

Publication date: 2021-12-06

Document date: 2019-03-06

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Videos / films

The Harmony ItaliaMalta Project (Italian)

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://www.harmony-italiamalta.eu/index_it.html

Publication date: 2021-12-06

Document date: 2019-11-27

Languages: it

The Harmony ItaliaMalta Project (English)

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://www.harmony-italiamalta.eu/index_it.html

Publication date: 2021-12-06

Document date: 2019-11-27

Languages: en

Flyers

Scheda HARMONY

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Flyer

Data source: https://www.harmony-italiamalta.eu/index_it.html

Publication date: 2021-12-06

Document date: 2021-02-27

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2014 - 2020 INTERREG V-A Italy - Malta

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2022-11-30

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

26 / 26 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

129 / 129 (100%)

Notes on the data

Information provided by the Programme. Achievements were retrieved by Interact from the Programme website (https://italiamalta.eu/?lang=en), or a website directly linked from it, on 2021-11-22, 2023-01-24. and 2024-03-19.

The financial data featured in keep.eu for this programme, it's projects and its partners is not exact and should be taken as a reference only.

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Italo-Maltese harmonization for a good state of the environment: seafloor integrity and interaction with invasive species to preserve the functioning of marine ecosystems

Description

Thematic information

Partners (7)

Partners map

Summary

Documents

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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