Giuseppe Cognetti – Introduction

 The Association “Mareamico”, founded in 1989, aims at encouraging the collaboration between scientific world, policy makers and contracting classes, on problems concerning marine environmental conservation and management of natural resources, monitoring, and Environmental Impact Assessment. The intention is on the one hand to transform individual scientific breakthroughs into global knowledge that knows no frontiers between states, and on the other hand to design coherent policy and legislation on a scientific basis. The scientific committee comprises scientists, experienced in various fields of marine sciences, from Italy and other EU countries.

The Association organises annual international sea conferences in different sites, to which scientists from a wide range of countries are invited together with representatives of the Council of Europe, European Community, and representatives of policy and economy interested in sea-related problems. Attention focuses mainly on the establishment of integrated models designed to improve knowledge of the marine environment and formulate the most suitable measures for its conservation. By request of the congress host site specific topics dealing with socio-economic interest connected to sea activities are treated together with general themes. In order to encourage debate on this subject, round tables centring on topics requested are organised.

Special attention is addressed to scientific relations with the Mediterranean developing countries in order to put forward proposals for closer co-operation at various levels, in particular to promote initiatives for professional training in marine sciences. International public opinion is more and more interested in sea conservation. Correct environmental information and the exchange of scientific knowledge at every level is an unquestionable right which is at the basis of modern environmental policy.

From this perspective the collaboration between “Mareamico” and “Aquatic Conservation” was born on the occasion of the XI Conference of “Mareamico” in Lecce (Italy) which focused on the sustainable management of the Mediterranean coast and the relationships with developing countries. This special volume of Aquatic Conservation collects the most relevant papers which have been presented in this conference.

Giuseppe Cognetti

President of the Mareamico Scientific Committee