MARE - Marine Adventures Respecting the Environment
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Punta Campanella AMP
Project MARE is a unique experience created with the aim to help marine conservation programs and promote culture. The project was born to support the conservation activities of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Punta Campanella, thanks to the involvement of volunteer activists from all over Europe and beyond, who have been working constantly for 9 months, at defining and practicing sustainable initiatives to be carried out in contact with nature.
Since 2013, the MPA of Punta Campanella has hosted international volunteers, funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ program, and since 2019, through the European Solidarity Corps program (ESC) that supports the management activities of the MPA's operators. Volunteers collaborate for a medium term period (from March to December). A group of volunteers do different activities throughout the project: sea and land monitoring; environmental education laboratories; the promotion of environmental awareness and also underwater research.
Last update: 05 Oct 2020
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Context
Challenges addressed
Location
Massa Lubrense, Province of Naples, Italy
West and South Europe
Impacts
During the last 7 years of activities, volunteers participated in numerous initiatives and achieved many results in supporting the MPA.The volunteers' work is highly valuable for the protection and management of Punta Campanella MPA. Beach cleaning, rescue of sea turtles, monitoring of sensititive ecosystems and areas of importance, communication of project objectives and promotion of environmental education provide a constant and positive impact on the MPA area and beyond.
This experience is a powerful input to make participants, residents and tourists understand the interactions between humans and ecological systems, and this helps to plan the future management strategies.
The main results and positive impacts gained by the MPA are:
- Marine Conservation – reduced impacts on nature by stopping illegal activities and making people aware of the protected marine resources of the MPA.
- Environmental Monitoring – data collected about abiotic, biotic and human factors in the area of the MPA
- Info & Awareness – people educated about MPA rules and threats to marine biodiversity
- Beach and Sea Clean-up – the biggest negative impacts on our ocean slowed down
- Intercultural Dialogue – learning about culture diversity and enhancing tolerance
- Ecotourism Promotion – the word is spread on eco-compatible interactions between humans and nature
