ABSTRACT
The ecological importance of the area between western Liguria, the west coast of Corsica and southern France has been highlighted by systematic surveys of large marine fauna and the area has been revealed as an exception to the generally low productivity of the Mediterranean Sea. This resulted in an agreement signed in 1999 by France, Italy and Monaco that established an 87,000 square km international protected area known as the "Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals". The Mediterranean high seas from Sanctuary waters and the development within the region of a number of novel initiatives at European and Mediterranean levels. These include the entry into force of ACCOBAMS, the development of the "ecosystem approach" planning under the framework of the Barcelona Convention, the identification of ecologically or biologically significant areas (EBSAs) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the obligation for European member states to implement national marine conservation strategies, and the onset of marine spatial planning (MSP).
