The Formentera Marine Stewardship Board: an excellent example of a networking partnership

About the finalist 

Overview 

Formentera is the smallest of the Balearic Islands. Practically all the surrounding marine area is protected, and its biodiversity is the engine of Formentera’s economy as well as being crucial to local incomes. However, the necessity of balancing economic activities and the need to preserve the unique nature of Formentera is hampered by a lack of adequate partnerships between the stakeholders. In addition, the Natura 2000 network was practically unknown, or else considered as an unwelcome imposition by the administration. 

To address these challenges, representatives of citizens, the scientific community, economic sectors and public administrations joined forces to improve the governance of the marine Natura 2000 sites surrounding the island, through the creation of the Formentera Marine Stewardship Board.  

This networking initiative was implemented by a partnership led by the Balearic General Directorate of Natural Environment and Forest Management and involving three conservation NGOs, as well as the local Society for the Development of Coastal Communities that contributes valuable expertise in social inclusion, participatory planning, and protected area management, enhancing the partnership's overall effectiveness. The initiative was implemented within the framework of a much larger INTERMARES LIFE Integrated Project. 

Proactively addressing potential tensions between nature conservation and development interests, the project partnership developed a management plan covering the five Formentera Natura 2000 sites, three of which are exclusively marine.  

Following this successful collaboration, the Formentera Marine Stewardship Agreement was signed in 2020 as an innovative tool to achieve the biodiversity protection objectives while maintaining a viable local economy. The Marine Stewardship Board is now mainly involved in the monitoring and evaluation of the management plan’s implementation. Of the 55 measures foreseen in this plan, over half are related to Formentera’s marine areas.  

Thanks to the Stewardship Board, there is now a much better coordination among the involved authorities and other stakeholders, leading to more effective management, implementation of the measures and surveillance of the protected areas. The Stewardship Board also acts as a consulting body for the administration, in relation to the processing of any regulations that may affect the Natura 2000 network in Formentera. It has also created three technical groups (administrative coordination, professional fishing, tourism) whose purpose is to address specific issues related to the Natura 2000 sites. For example, the technical work on fishing focuses on the issue of accidental bycatch, notably to reduce the mortality of the endemic and critically endangered Balearic shearwater. The technical group on tourism works on developing alternative options for recreational and sports activities. The Stewardship Board is also a catalyst in the promotion of capacity-building measures targeting fishermen, associations, sports clubs and local businesses.  

In terms of the wider public, a new citizen science portal for marine monitoring was introduced. Most importantly, within a short period of time, the project consortium has successfully changed key stakeholders’ perception of the Natura 2000 network to ensure the recognition of its biodiversity values and the need for its conservation and restoration. 

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