ENSERES organizes an event in Tunisia to explain call for sub-grants aimed at involving Civil Society Organizations in the management and sustainable development of Sfax and the Kneiss Islands protected areas

ENSERES begins to concretely transform the reality of the Mediterranean protected areas. The project has launched a call for grants for the two areas of intervention, Tire in Lebanon and Sfax in Tunisia, which will become laboratories of a new approach to integrated and sustainable management.

In Tunisia the funding will support the development of the nature reserve and SPAMI (Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance) of the Kneiss Islands, as well as the city of Sfax and its surrounding territories. The goal is to involve civil society organizations (CSOs)in actions that contribute to the construction of an articulated and sustainable management tool.

The Mediterranean coasts have been facing for decades huge pressures on their environments. Pollution and tourism, in particular, are the major source of unbalance for such fragile areas and the ecosystem services they provide. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic a new model of sustainable socio-economic regeneration has become necessary. 

Of the 90,000 euros available for the two areas, Sfax was awarded 5 subgrants of 10,000 euro each. The devised actions will have to be carried out in:

• Development and implementation of ecological and/or socio-economic monitoring schemes;
• Sustainable development activities, particularly sustainable tourism;
• Sustainable development and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), activities on urban areas or natural areas surrounding urban areas (except SPAMIs) focusing on sustainable tourism and pollution prevention and management (especially marine litter); 

The call is open to NGOs, fishermen associations, associations/organizations related to sustainable tourism. 

In order to provide more details, the Municipality of Sfax, on behalf of all the partners of the ENSERES project, is pleased to invite CSOs to participate in an information day, which will be held on Friday May 13, 2022 at Concorde Hotel Sfax center from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The event will be an opportunity to get to know the organizations and their ideas, as well as to answer all questions about the call for funding. 

Presence must be confirmed before 10/05/2022 to the following e-mail addresses: cooperation.mairie.sfax@gmail.com and sarra.hihi@gmail.com

The ENSERES project is co-funded by the European Union under the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme 2014-2020. ENSERES has a duration of 24 months, with a total budget of 1.1 M €, of which 1M € (90%) are funded by the European Union.