Creation of voluntary fund to protect marine mammals in Pelagos Sanctuary

Plan Sanctuaire Pelagos

The tripartite Pelagos Agreement¹, signed in 1999 by France, Italy and the Principality of Monaco, last year created the Pelagos Voluntary Fund. The purpose of this new instrument is to provide financial support for the ambitious Pelagos Action Plan 2022–2027.

This fund will make it possible to finance priority tripartite initiatives included in the new Management Plan through contributions from member states of the Agreement and donations from individuals and citizens.

Thanks to generous contributions from France’s Ministry of Ecological Transition, Italy’s Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and the Government of Monaco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, as well as from the Nage Libre France association, the Pelagos Voluntary Fund has already raised half a million euro.

The voluntary contributions already received have been allocated to stepping up cooperation activities and the Permanent Secretariat of the Pelagos Agreement (Italy), to improving communications and a fundraising strategy for the Agreement (France) and to strengthening governance of the Agreement (Monaco). Finally, the contribution from Nage Libre France will be used to co-finance the development of a map highlighting the risks associated with underwater noise facing cetaceans in the Pelagos Sanctuary.

These initial contributions to the Pelagos Voluntary Fund confirm the commitment of the parties and a renewed determination to improve conservation measures in the only international area dedicated to marine mammals in the Mediterranean. The Agreement would therefore like to offer its sincere thanks to the parties and to the Nage Libre France association for their unfailing and much-needed support.

Furthermore, anyone who would like to help protect whales, dolphins and monk seals and the precious environment they inhabit can send a donation to the Pelagos Sanctuary by contacting the Permanent Secretariat directly at: secretariat@pelagossanctuary.org

It will also soon be possible to make a donation on the Agreement’s website in just one click via: www.pelagos-sanctuary.org

So don’t wait any longer – make your contribution to marine biodiversity in the Pelagos Sanctuary now!

¹ The Pelagos Agreement to create a sanctuary for the protection of marine mammals in the Mediterranean entered into force in 2002. The Pelagos Sanctuary is the only international cross-border area dedicated to the protection of marine mammals in the Mediterranean Sea. This is an area that features extraordinary biodiversity, where eight cetacean species are regularly observed and it is also possible, on rare occasions, to spot monk seals. The Agreement was established with the goal of improving conservation of the marine environment by assessing and managing human impact on the species and habitats of marine mammals. The Sanctuary is also acknowledged as an area of cultural, educational and socio-economic interest, and is a Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI), recognised by the Barcelona Convention and the United Nations Environment Programme.