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Component: C 1.1 Initial Assessment: Developing an Overview Sub-component: C 1.1.1 Develop a basin scale analysis/initial assessment strongly MSP oriented This Report has been created thanks to the collaboration of all the Member States involved in the SIMWESTMED project that have been invited to complete the Country Fiche, a document that has led to the development of shared knowledge regarding the marine area considered in the project. Thus, the aim of this Report is to entail a collection of information across the European countries of the Western Mediterranean region and the Strait of Sicily, including Malta waters. The Initial Assessment, in fact, provides an initial overview of the area’s characteristics and this report is the harmonized output of all available information including the description of marine environment, maritime activities, key sectoral and socio-economic trends and emerging pressures, legal and transboundary issues, and governance aspects. The assessment uses existing information by organizing them in a comparable way in order to carry out a previous analysis on the main driver and issues that need to be considered for future MSP processes. The Initial Assessment is based mainly on desk-based reviews, in order to build a shared synthetic view on the Western Mediterranean region, identifying key issues (main activities and priority conservation issues) and data gaps that are synthesized in the following report., This report/document was produced as part of the SIMWESTMED Project (Grant Agreement N0. EASME/EMFF/2015/1.2.1.3/02/SI2.742101). PROJECT: Supporting Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Western Mediterranean region (SIMWESTMED) Competition for maritime space – for renewable energy equipment, aquaculture and other uses – has highlighted the need to manage our waters more coherently. Maritime spatial planning (MSP) works across borders and sectors to ensure human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe and sustainable way. That is why the European Parliament and the Council have adopted a legislation to create a common framework for maritime spatial planning in Europe. The Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 (said Maritime Spatial Planning Directive) establishes a framework in order to reduce conflicts between sectors and create synergies between different activities, to encourage investment – by creating predictability, transparency and clearer rules, to increase cross-border cooperation – between EU countries to develop energy grids, shipping lanes, pipelines, submarine cables and other activities, but also to develop coherent networks of protected areas, and to protect the environment – through early identification of impact and opportunities for multiple use of space. The SIMWESTMED project (Supporting Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Western Mediterranean region) is an EU/DG Mare co-funded cross-border project. It was launched on 1st of January 2017 and involves Spain, France, Italy and Malta, while these countries had just designated their Competent Authorities and transposed the Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Directive. SIMWESTMED aims to support the implementation of the MSP Directive in the waters of Spain, France, Italy and Malta, as well as to establish cross-border cooperation mechanisms between these Member States, to contribute to the coherence of their marine spatial plans to be established by 2021. The action ran until 31st of December 2018 and was based on a partnership of public bodies of the countries and two international organisations. It was composed of CEDEX, IEO, AFB, CEREMA, Shom, CORILA and its affiliated entities IUAV and CNR-ISMAR, MIT, IMELS, PA, CPMR, UNEP-MAP and its affiliated entity UNEP-MAP/PAP-RAC. Shom acted as coordinator. The objectives of the SIMWESTMED project were addressed through a variety of activities and desktop or case studies. They are dedicated to identifying the methodology steps, and explore the challenges and opportunities of the MSP implementation in the Western Mediterranean area, including thus related to transboundary issues (Ecosystem based approach, marine policies, Barcelona Convention, Land Sea Interactions, geographical scale of the plans, data interoperability, tools to support MSP). The project led to a multiplicity of outputs including overviews of MSP relevant information related to the countries and on more focus areas, to a number of interviews and meetings where stakeholder views were collected to feed the reasoning, and to guidelines and good practices to be shared at a national and transnational level with marine stakeholders, scientists as well as planners, administrations and authorities. In addition, SIMWESTMED permitted a lot of progression internally in the countries and regarding transboundary cooperation. It led to establish and develop new dialogues and to connect the technical or scientific actors, the stakeholders, the administrations of the countries of a same sea basin, and the administrations within the countries, including the representative of Regions. It allowed to better understand Maritime Spatial Planning mechanisms, to share knowledge and as such reached to build capacities, which is of importance as there is such a need in the Mediterranean area compared to more Northern countries. The project also permitted to address topics which have never been addressed before. The involvement of some countries in SIMWESTMED and in the EU-DG Mare "brother" projects SUPREME, SIMNORAT and SIMCelt was useful for them to develop a global vision with their neighbours through the East and West side of the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic sea basin. At the end of this exercise, it is stated the need of pursuing the work and dialogue in particular through common tools, but at this stage, the SIMWESTMED has constituted a common knowledge and background. Disclaimer: The contents and conclusions of this report, including the maps and figures, do not imply the expression of any opinion or endorsement of the participating partners concerning the legal status of any country, territory, area, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The depiction and use of boundaries, geographic names and related data shown on maps included in this report are not warranted to be error free nor do they imply official endorsement or acceptance by any of the participating partners. This report is a working document and may rely on data from sources external to the SIMWESTMED project Consortium and, in addition to this, it may contain some information gaps. Neither the European Commission or Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises nor UN Environment/MAP Barcelona Convention Secretariat may be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained in this report.

Past polar climate variability can be documented at high resolution thanks to ice core records, which have revealed significant Holocene variations in Antarctica. Paleotemperature reconstructions from Antarctic ice cores are mainly based on δ18O (δD) records, a proxy for local, precipitation-weighted atmospheric temperatures. Here, we present a new climate record spanning the past 12,000 years resulting from high resolution (10 cm) stable isotope analyses of the ice core drilled at Talos Dome (TD) in East Antarctica from 2003 to 2007 in the framework of the TALDICE (TALos Dome Ice CorE) project. Talos Dome (72° 49’S, 15911’E; 2315 m; -41°C) is an ice dome on the edge of the East Antarctic plateau, where moisture is mainly advected from the Indian and western Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean. Pacific moisture arriving at TD has been transported above the Ross Sea, where extensive presence of sea ice also occurs during summer. High-resolution δ18O data have been measured using both IRMS and CRDS techniques on 10 cm samples, leading to a mean time resolution of two years. The long-term trend of the TALDICE δ18O profile shows characteristic features already observed in other ice cores from the East Antarctic plateau. Following the approach of Pol et al. (2011), high frequency climate variability has been investigated using a 3000-year running standard deviation on the de-trended record. The results are compared to the same analysis performed on the nearby Taylor Dome ice core δ18O O data, which is the single East Antarctic ice core showing a strong Holocene decreasing trend. Despite these trend differences, both sites share common features regarding changes in variance. We also investigate changes in deuterium excess, a proxy reflecting changes in moisture source conditions. Both deuterium excess records show a two-step increasing trend in the first part of the Holocene. Taylor Dome deuterium excess however depicts an enhanced variability since about 7000 years BP. A wavelet analysis shows a change in isotopic variability patterns at 6-7000 years BP at both sites, suggesting changes in regional climate variability attributed to the opening of the Ross Sea area after the deglaciation.

From 10 to 8 ka BP (thousand years before present), paleoclimate records show an atmospheric and oceanic cooling in the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. During this interval, temperatures estimated from proxy data decrease by 0.8 °C over Antarctica and 1.2 °C over the Southern Ocean. In order to study the causes of this cooling, simulations covering the early Holocene have been performed with the climate model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM constrained to follow the signal recorded in climate prox

Temperature changes in Antarctica over the last millennium are investigated using proxy records, a set of simulations driven by natural and anthropogenic forcings and one simulation with data assimilation. Over Antarctica, a long term cooling trend in annual mean is simulated during the period 1000–1850. The main contributor to this cooling trend is the volcanic forcing, astronomical forcing playing a dominant role at seasonal timescale. Since 1850, all the models produce an Antarctic warming in response to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations. We present a composite of Antarctic temperature, calculated by averaging seven temperature records derived from isotope measurements in ice cores. This simple approach is supported by the coherency displayed between model results at these data grid points and Antarctic mean temperature. The composite shows a weak multi-centennial cooling trend during the pre-industrial period and a warming after 1850 that is broadly consistent with model results. In both data and simulations, large regional variations are superimposed on this common signal, at decadal to centennial timescales. The model results appear spatially more consistent than ice core records. We conclude that more records are needed to resolve the complex spatial distribution of Antarctic temperature variations during the last millennium.

Component: C 1.3 Support for Member States' implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning Sub‐component: C 1.3.6. Establish Case Studies on Approaches to MSP Implementation Deliverable: Tyrrhenian Case Study The Tyrrhenian case study comprehends portions of internal, territorial and international waters and the entire study area is included within the Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) of the Pelagos Sanctuary for the Conservation of Marine Mammals, a transboundary Sanctuary established through an international agreement signed between three different countries (Italy, France and Principality of Monaco). It includes key areas in the context of Western Mediterranean in terms of ecological and socio-economic value, in particular three Italian National Parks, Asinara Island, La Maddalena Archipelago and the whole Tuscan Archipelago; the Corsica Channel, an area characterised by a great environmental sensitivity, subject to increased anthropic pressure for which the Italian and French Governments have signed a MoU concerning the regulation of international maritime traffic; the Bonifacio Strait, an international strait shared between French and Italian jurisdictions; and the only Particularly Sensitive Sea Area declared by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the Mediterranean Sea. Several human activities take place and interact dynamically with local uses and the marine environment components. Among these activities some are expected to increase in coming years. Thus, it will be fundamental to effectively organize their spatial distribution and mutual interactions in balance with the protection and sustainable management of the natural resources, taking in consideration the priority of avoiding impacts on marine mammals due to their great conservation relevance. In order to address specific details of the SIMWESTMED Tyrrhenian case study, the analysis process was directed through two main foci: a thematic focus (in the whole area) on the processes and instruments for the transboundary cooperation on MSP, coordinated by UNEP PAP/RAC; and a management focus on the Tuscan Archipelago, coordinated by CORILA. To address the thematic focus in the whole area, processes and instruments for transboundary cooperation on MSP were exhaustively and thoroughly analysed in depth, at different levels (international, EU, national), together with the different governance levels and requirements for a comprehensive application of MSP. In particular, the relevant legal framework and/or concerning the formal planning systems, and cross-border cooperation processes, governance context, relevant for the particularities of preservation of marine mammals as well as existing institutional regional cooperation structures were assessed. Based on these, the proposals on the MSP approach, addressing the appropriate measures in order to achieve greater protection of marine mammals in the Mediterranean, were developed., This report/document was produced as part of the SIMWESTMED Project (Grant Agreement N0. EASME/EMFF/2015/1.2.1.3/02/SI2.742101). PROJECT: Supporting Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Western Mediterranean region (SIMWESTMED) Competition for maritime space – for renewable energy equipment, aquaculture and other uses – has highlighted the need to manage our waters more coherently. Maritime spatial planning (MSP) works across borders and sectors to ensure human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe and sustainable way. That is why the European Parliament and the Council have adopted a legislation to create a common framework for maritime spatial planning in Europe. The Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 (said Maritime Spatial Planning Directive) establishes a framework in order to reduce conflicts between sectors and create synergies between different activities, to encourage investment – by creating predictability, transparency and clearer rules, to increase cross-border cooperation – between EU countries to develop energy grids, shipping lanes, pipelines, submarine cables and other activities, but also to develop coherent networks of protected areas, and to protect the environment – through early identification of impact and opportunities for multiple use of space. The SIMWESTMED project (Supporting Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Western Mediterranean region) is an EU/DG Mare co-funded cross-border project. It was launched on 1st of January 2017 and involves Spain, France, Italy and Malta, while these countries had just designated their Competent Authorities and transposed the Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Directive. SIMWESTMED aims to support the implementation of the MSP Directive in the waters of Spain, France, Italy and Malta, as well as to establish cross-border cooperation mechanisms between these Member States, to contribute to the coherence of their marine spatial plans to be established by 2021. The action ran until 31st of December 2018 and was based on a partnership of public bodies of the countries and two international organisations. It was composed of CEDEX, IEO, AFB, CEREMA, Shom, CORILA and its affiliated entities IUAV and CNR-ISMAR, MIT, IMELS, PA, CPMR, UNEP-MAP and its affiliated entity UNEP-MAP/PAP-RAC. Shom acted as coordinator. The objectives of the SIMWESTMED project were addressed through a variety of activities and desktop or case studies. They are dedicated to identifying the methodology steps, and explore the challenges and opportunities of the MSP implementation in the Western Mediterranean area, including thus related to transboundary issues (Ecosystem based approach, marine policies, Barcelona Convention, Land Sea Interactions, geographical scale of the plans, data interoperability, tools to support MSP). The project led to a multiplicity of outputs including overviews of MSP relevant information related to the countries and on more focus areas, to a number of interviews and meetings where stakeholder views were collected to feed the reasoning, and to guidelines and good practices to be shared at a national and transnational level with marine stakeholders, scientists as well as planners, administrations and authorities. In addition, SIMWESTMED permitted a lot of progression internally in the countries and regarding transboundary cooperation. It led to establish and develop new dialogues and to connect the technical or scientific actors, the stakeholders, the administrations of the countries of a same sea basin, and the administrations within the countries, including the representative of Regions. It allowed to better understand Maritime Spatial Planning mechanisms, to share knowledge and as such reached to build capacities, which is of importance as there is such a need in the Mediterranean area compared to more Northern countries. The project also permitted to address topics which have never been addressed before. The involvement of some countries in SIMWESTMED and in the EU-DG Mare "brother" projects SUPREME, SIMNORAT and SIMCelt was useful for them to develop a global vision with their neighbours through the East and West side of the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic sea basin. At the end of this exercise, it is stated the need of pursuing the work and dialogue in particular through common tools, but at this stage, the SIMWESTMED has constituted a common knowledge and background. Disclaimer: The contents and conclusions of this report, including the maps and figures, do not imply the expression of any opinion or endorsement of the participating partners concerning the legal status of any country, territory, area, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The depiction and use of boundaries, geographic names and related data shown on maps included in this report are not warranted to be error free nor do they imply official endorsement or acceptance by any of the participating partners. This report is a working document and may rely on data from sources external to the SIMWESTMED project Consortium and, in addition to this, it may contain some information gaps. Neither the European Commission or Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises nor UN Environment/MAP Barcelona Convention Secretariat may be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained in this report.

Component: C 1.3 Support for Member States' implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning Sub‐component: C 1.3.1 Develop and propose a conceptual methodology for transboundary MSP in the Western MED, with operational details on selected aspects Deliverable: Recommendations to support common understanding on a regional scale on MSP, including synergic implementation of regionally relevant policy instruments Objectives: This document identifies a number of key issues considered particularly relevant for the implementation of MSP in the Western Mediterranean. Preliminary contents were presented and discussed at the “SIMWESTMED regional meeting” held on the 5th of October 2017 in Hyeres (France). Outcomes of the discussion have been used to integrate and detail the preliminary identified issues and develop the current version of the document. The main goal is to identify common issues driving or hindering MSP implementation in the Western Mediterranean and provide suggestions to strengthen drivers and/or remove obstacles, taking into consideration the framework provided by the Barcelona Convention (including its Protocols, in particular the one dealing with ICZM) and the Directive 2014/89/EU on MSP. Some of the identified issues are common also to the Eastern Mediterranean, thus applying to the entire Mediterranean Basin. In the following pages, the document briefly describes the current state of MSP implementation in the Western Mediterranean, with particular focus on EU countries, mainly referring to the information included in the EU MSP Platform and the eight major issues identified, including for each of them a number of specific suggestions. Besides considering the results of the Hyeres workshop, the issues and related suggestions have been defined capitalizing the work done for the elaboration of the Conceptual Framework for MSP in the Mediterranean., This report/document was produced as part of the SIMWESTMED Project (Grant Agreement N0. EASME/EMFF/2015/1.2.1.3/02/SI2.742101). PROJECT: Supporting Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Western Mediterranean region (SIMWESTMED) Competition for maritime space – for renewable energy equipment, aquaculture and other uses – has highlighted the need to manage our waters more coherently. Maritime spatial planning (MSP) works across borders and sectors to ensure human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe and sustainable way. That is why the European Parliament and the Council have adopted a legislation to create a common framework for maritime spatial planning in Europe. The Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 (said Maritime Spatial Planning Directive) establishes a framework in order to reduce conflicts between sectors and create synergies between different activities, to encourage investment – by creating predictability, transparency and clearer rules, to increase cross-border cooperation – between EU countries to develop energy grids, shipping lanes, pipelines, submarine cables and other activities, but also to develop coherent networks of protected areas, and to protect the environment – through early identification of impact and opportunities for multiple use of space. SIMWESTMED project (Supporting Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Western Mediterranean region) is a EU/DG Mare co-funded cross-border project. It was launched on 1st of January 2017 and involves Spain, France, Italy and Malta, while these countries had just designated their Competent Authorities and transposed the Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Directive. SIMWESTMED aims to support the implementation of the MSP Directive in the waters of Spain, France, Italy and Malta, as well as to establish cross-border cooperation mechanisms between these Member States, to contribute to the coherence of their marine spatial plans to be established in 2021. The action ran until 31st of December 2018 and was based on a partnership of public bodies of the countries and two international organisations. It was composed of CEDEX, IEO, AFB, CEREMA, Shom, CORILA and its affiliated entities IUAV and CNR-ISMAR, MIT, IMELS, PA, CPMR, UNEP-MAP and its affiliated entity UNEP-MAP/PAP-RAC. Shom acted as coordinator. The objectives of SIMWESTMED project were addressed through a variety of activities and desktop or case studies. They are dedicated to identify the methodology steps, and explore the challenges and opportunities of the MSP implementation in the Western Mediterranean area, including thus related to transboundary issues (Ecosystem based approach, marine policies, Barcelona Convention, Land Sea Interactions, geographical scale of the plans, data interoperability, tools to support MSP). The project led to a multiplicity of outputs including overviews of MSP relevant information related to the countries and on more focus areas, to a number of interviews and meetings where stakeholder views were collected to feed the reasoning, and to guidelines and good practices to be shared at a national and transnational level with marine stakeholders, scientific as well as planners, administrations and authorities. In addition, SIMWESTMED permitted a lot of progression internally in the countries and regarding transboundary cooperation. It led to establish and develop new dialogues and to connect the technical or scientific actors, the stakeholders, the administrations of the countries of a same sea basin, and the administrations within the countries, including the representative of Regions. It allowed to better understand Maritime Spatial Planning mechanisms, to share knowledge and as such reached to build capacities, which is of importance as there is such a need in the Mediterranean area compared to more North countries. The project also permitted to address topics which have never been before. The involvement of some countries in SIMWESTMED and in the EU-DG Mare "brother" projects SUPREME, SIMNORAT and SIMCelt was useful for them to develop a global vision with their neighbours through the East and West side of the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic sea basin. At the end of this exercise, it is stated the need of pursuing the work and dialogue in particular through common tools, but at this stage, the SIMWESTMED has constituted a common knowledge and background. Disclaimer: The contents and conclusions of this report, including the maps and figures, do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the participating partners concerning the legal status of any country, territory, area, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The depiction and use of boundaries, geographic names and related data shown on maps included in this report are not warranted to be error free nor do they imply official endorsement or acceptance by any of the participating partners. This report is a working document and may rely on data from sources external to the SIMWESTMED project Consortium and, in addition to this, it may contain some information gaps. Neither the European Commission or Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises nor UN Environment/MAP Barcelona Convention Secretariat may be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained in this report.

Component: C 1.3 Support for Member States' implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning Sub‐component: C 1.3.1 Develop and propose a conceptual methodology for transboundary MSP in the Western MED, with operational details on selected aspects C 1.3.1.4 Relationship between LSI and ICZM This document aims to provide a methodological guideline for LSI analysis within MSP, also exploring how such analysis can be embedded in the wider ICZM context. In this perspective, this document intends to support MSP planners with a possible operative framework for the LSI analysis, identifying specific actions to be carried out in close connections with the maritime spatial planning process. Finally, with specific regard to addressing the MSP Directive requirements, the ultimate scope of this document is to provide some guidance on how to (re)organize topics, information and effort, including those eventually already available from formal or informal processes (e.g. ICZM). In addition to this introduction, the document includes other 5 chapters. Based on the analysis of the available literature, chapter 2 provides the description of some key concepts for LSI analysis, including its definition (section 2.1), different possible categorization of LSI typologies (section 2.2), and criteria that might delimitate the area of LSI analysis (section 2.3). Chapter 3 illustrates examples of LSI definitions included in the national legislation and of interactions considered particularly relevant in the countries participating to the SIMWESTMED project. Chapter 4 reflects on the step-by-step methodological guideline to perform LSI analysis within the MSP process, as proposed within SUPREME project. Links between LSI and MSP are in detail explored in chapter 5, which also discusses how outcome of the LSI analysis can be transferred in the ICZM context, referring in particular to the ICZM Protocol, as well as in other planning processes. Finally, chapter 6 provides some reflections on LSI analysis coming from the pilot cases implemented by SIMWESTMED project., This report/document was produced as part of the SIMWESTMED Project (Grant Agreement N0. EASME/EMFF/2015/1.2.1.3/02/SI2.742101). PROJECT: Supporting Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Western Mediterranean region (SIMWESTMED) Competition for maritime space – for renewable energy equipment, aquaculture and other uses – has highlighted the need to manage our waters more coherently. Maritime spatial planning (MSP) works across borders and sectors to ensure human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe and sustainable way. That is why the European Parliament and the Council have adopted a legislation to create a common framework for maritime spatial planning in Europe. The Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 (said Maritime Spatial Planning Directive) establishes a framework in order to reduce conflicts between sectors and create synergies between different activities, to encourage investment – by creating predictability, transparency and clearer rules, to increase cross-border cooperation – between EU countries to develop energy grids, shipping lanes, pipelines, submarine cables and other activities, but also to develop coherent networks of protected areas, and to protect the environment – through early identification of impact and opportunities for multiple use of space. The SIMWESTMED project (Supporting Implementation of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Western Mediterranean region) is an EU/DG Mare co-funded cross-border project. It was launched on 1st of January 2017 and involves Spain, France, Italy and Malta, while these countries had just designated their Competent Authorities and transposed the Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Directive. SIMWESTMED aims to support the implementation of the MSP Directive in the waters of Spain, France, Italy and Malta, as well as to establish cross-border cooperation mechanisms between these Member States, to contribute to the coherence of their marine spatial plans to be established by 2021. The action ran until 31st of December 2018 and was based on a partnership of public bodies of the countries and two international organisations. It was composed of CEDEX, IEO, AFB, CEREMA, Shom, CORILA and its affiliated entities IUAV and CNR-ISMAR, MIT, IMELS, PA, CPMR, UNEP-MAP and its affiliated entity UNEP-MAP/PAP-RAC. Shom acted as coordinator. The objectives of the SIMWESTMED project were addressed through a variety of activities and desktop or case studies. They are dedicated to identifying the methodology steps, and explore the challenges and opportunities of the MSP implementation in the Western Mediterranean area, including thus related to transboundary issues (Ecosystem based approach, marine policies, Barcelona Convention, Land Sea Interactions, geographical scale of the plans, data interoperability, tools to support MSP). The project led to a multiplicity of outputs including overviews of MSP relevant information related to the countries and on more focus areas, to a number of interviews and meetings where stakeholder views were collected to feed the reasoning, and to guidelines and good practices to be shared at a national and transnational level with marine stakeholders, scientists as well as planners, administrations and authorities. In addition, SIMWESTMED permitted a lot of progression internally in the countries and regarding transboundary cooperation. It led to establish and develop new dialogues and to connect the technical or scientific actors, the stakeholders, the administrations of the countries of a same sea basin, and the administrations within the countries, including the representative of Regions. It allowed to better understand Maritime Spatial Planning mechanisms, to share knowledge and as such reached to build capacities, which is of importance as there is such a need in the Mediterranean area compared to more Northern countries. The project also permitted to address topics which have never been addressed before. The involvement of some countries in SIMWESTMED and in the EU-DG Mare "brother" projects SUPREME, SIMNORAT and SIMCelt was useful for them to develop a global vision with their neighbours through the East and West side of the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic sea basin. At the end of this exercise, it is stated the need of pursuing the work and dialogue in particular through common tools, but at this stage, the SIMWESTMED has constituted a common knowledge and background. Disclaimer: The contents and conclusions of this report, including the maps and figures, do not imply the expression of any opinion or endorsement of the participating partners concerning the legal status of any country, territory, area, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The depiction and use of boundaries, geographic names and related data shown on maps included in this report are not warranted to be error free nor do they imply official endorsement or acceptance by any of the participating partners. This report is a working document and may rely on data from sources external to the SIMWESTMED project Consortium and, in addition to this, it may contain some information gaps. Neither the European Commission or Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises nor UN Environment/MAP Barcelona Convention Secretariat may be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained in this report.

The causes of the recent increase in Antarctic sea ice extent, characterised by large regional contrasts and decadal variations, remain unclear. In the Ross Sea, where such a sea ice increase is reported, 50% of the sea ice is produced within wind-sustained latent-heat polynyas. Combining information from marine diatom records and sea salt sodium and water isotope ice core records, we here document contrasting patterns in sea ice variations between coastal and open sea areas in Western Ross Sea over the current interglacial period. Since about 3600 years before present, an increase in the efficiency of regional latent-heat polynyas resulted in more coastal sea ice, while sea ice extent decreased overall. These past changes coincide with remarkable optima or minima in the abundances of penguins, silverfish and seal remains, confirming the high sensitivity of marine ecosystems to environmental and especially coastal sea ice conditions., Strong regional heterogeneity prevents thorough understanding of the recent increase in Antarctic sea ice. Here, analysis of marine and ice cores in the Western Ross Sea shows that late Holocene contrasting sea ice patterns between open and coastal areas are related to katabatic winds and polynya efficiency.