The RAMOGE Agreement decided to identify sites of special ecological interest according to common criteria,
as defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity for Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs).
©Simonepietro CANESE
The following criteria were used to select and classify the areas:
- Uniqueness or rarity
- Ecological/functional importance
- Importance for threatened, endangered or declining species and/or habitats
- Vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity or slow recovery
- Biological diversity
- Naturalness
67 sites were identified in the ramoge area:
- 35 in Liguria / Italy
- 7 in Monaco
- 25 in the PACA region / France
This pilot initiative has led to the creation of an initial inventory of areas of high ecological or biological value in the RAMOGE area based on common criteria, thus giving an initial overview of their distribution and coverage in the three countries.
EXPLORATION 2015
THE BEGINNING OF RAMOGE CAMPAIGNS
This approach was pursued by carrying out scientific exploration activities in deep-sea habitats. In 2015, the Agreement organised an oceanographic exploration campaign in areas of ecological interest near the coast to gain a deeper understanding of these areas identified in Liguria, the Principality of Monaco and the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region.
Italian, French and Monegasque scientists were able to use the technical resources of the vessel of ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) and Ifremer, equipped with a multibeam echosounder and a ROV. This initiative will make it possible to draw on the experience of different researchers to develop common study methodologies in the RAMOGE area.
The results of the campaigns are available in the following reports:
After the first campaign in the coastal zone in 2015, a second oceanographic campaign was carried out in 2018 to collect new data in the canyons and deep-sea areas offshore. Ten scientists from the three member countries of the Agreement worked on board of the “Atalante”, a remarkable oceanographic vessel owned by Ifremer equipped – among other things – with a multibeam echosounder and a Victor 6000 ROV capable of reaching a depth of 6.000 metres.
The considerable amount of collected data – some of them truly unique – will be processed and will give an important contribution to increasing knowledge of deep-sea habitats to define common management measures and ensure their protection.
RAMOGE will continue cooperation in the future to study deep-water environments: a new campaign is planned for the summer of 2022.
Read about the results of the 2018 exploration campaign below:
