Sustainable management of Mediterranean Marine Biodiversity is a key-priority of EU programmes and actions. Blue Growth Strategy, InterregMED Program, Horizon 2020 Mission Ocean, Next Generation EU have been promoting transnational cooperation, scientific research and financial support to national and regional actions on this priority. These actions and plans share one vision: integrating marine diversity protection and human activities. However, two main gaps still limit the promotion of a rigorous, salient and credible integration of the human dimension on marine biodiversity assessment and study: namely the overall lack of understanding citizens’ conceptions and misconception on the sea, and the lack (or oversimplification), both in political and scientific debate, of cultural, social and political dimensions as key drivers acting on the relationship among European citizens and marine biodiversity. The session aims to enrich the debate on these two gaps by adopting a geographical perspective. Indeed, including these themes both in scientific research and policies on biodiversity is a key element of any strategy to promote an integrated management of marine biodiversity across the Mediterranean. We define“human dimensions” of marine biodiversity as a set of behaviours, values, policies, practices, perceptions, conceptions ge (eg. LEK, political attitudes, citizen sciences, cultural and aesthetic values of biodiversity, ocean literacy, engagement of workers of small-scale fisheries and gender gaps) related to the Mediterranean as a marine region.
Contributions (theoretical or empirical) that address the following topics are encouraged:
- Local Ecological Knowledge and Mediterranean biodiversity protection
- Multiscale approaches to marine conservation and management in the Mediterranean
- Cultural, artistic and social values connected to Mediterranean biodiversity policies and actions
- Critical geoconomic of shipping, infrastructure (eg. harbours, ports, artificial coastal structures) and marine activities (across the Mediterranean)
- Human geography approach for geospatial technologies, representation, measurement activities for marine sustainability and biodiversity conservation
- Ocean literacy and blue education (across the Mediterranean)
- Gender implications of human activities across the Mediterranean (eg. small-scale fisheries, coastal and maritime tourism)
- Mediterranean small islands advocacy and the governance of biodiversity