Project Title:

Marine Habitat Mapping and Nagoya Protocol at Aqaba

Project Duration:

January 2019- May 2019 

Project Objectives:

This project was implemented to achieve the following objectives:

• Update the marine habitat map, which was established by ASEZA in 2011 as a tool of sustainable development.
• Raise knowledge and awareness at Aqaba toward the Nagoya protocol to sustain genetic resources for the existing habitats and ecosystems.

Partner Organizations:

This project was funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Ministry of Environment.

Outstanding Achievements

• Develop an updated marine habitat map for the Aqaba Marine Park, which define ecosystems and habitats as a base for future sustainable development. This map include the followings:

1. Assess environmental settings, including the quantity of reef development and levels of coral cover.
2. Identify and prioritize various habitats/sites, which are likely to be of key conservation significance.
3. Geospatial analyses and heat maps for pressures and threats along the Jordanian coast in the Gulf of Aqaba.
4. Produce sensitivity maps for marine habitats and coastline to be used in the future conservation actions.
5. Mapping and zoning the most critical and important sites for economic development and conservation actions.
6. Ecological niche modeling to determine the best suitable habitat for marine biodiversity distribution among the different habitat layers.

• Youth Engagement, through:

1. Engaging students and volunteers in diving attempts to verify the process of habitat mapping.
2. Raising their knowledge on the protection of the marine environment and training a number of them in the field of eco diving.

• Raise the awareness and knowledge toward the Nagoya protocol among various stakeholders and decision makers, through:

1. Developing the necessary publications, which will raise the knowledge about the Nagoya protocol in Aqaba.
2. Conducting workshops and other activities to raise the capacity and awareness of various stakeholders and decision makers toward the Nagoya protocol.
3. Using media and social media channels to publish the project achievements and objectives.