Climate change is dramatically affecting the Mediterranean Sea, which is warming at a rate three times faster (0.41°C per decade) than the world’s average (0.13°C per decade). Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), despite the nature-based solution they offer to support efforts towards climate change adaptation and mitigation, also experience the effects of climate change. In fact, several Mediterranean MPAs are already facing major biodiversity and functional alterations due to climate change, whereas others will likely face them within the next few decades. There is, therefore, an urgency to mitigate these risks and to consider adaptation options, in partnership with local communities, decision-makers, civil society organizations, research bodies, and other socio-economic actors at local, national and regional level. In the framework of the MPA Engage project an harmonized set of tools to address key topics to develop climate change adaptation plans have been developed and tested. These tools include ecological monitoring, vulnerability risk assessments, participatory approaches, citizen science and development of an action plan. MPA Engage is an Interreg Med funded project that seeks to support Mediterranean MPAs to adapt to and mitigate the ongoing climate change effects in the Mediterranean. Within a period of three years, MPA Engage has provided essential support to managers of marine protected areas to fast-track actions against climate change. During this time, MPA managers and climate change experts from 14 entities and 6 different countries, namely Albania, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy and Spain, have been brought together and have evolved into a taskforce with a joint mission to promote MPAs as nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation.

This document is a single station document to access to the different tools and materials developed and tested during the project MPA Engage to develop adaptation action plans to face climate change in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas. The document includes as well a description of the lessons learnt and indicative costs. Overall, this document was specially designed to guide MPA management bodies to design and implement measures in an efficient way to promote marine protected area MPAs as nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation.