Non-indigenous species and the Post-2020 SAPBIO

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Barcelona Convention · SPA/BD Protocol · Decision IG.25/11

The Post-2020 Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Mediterranean Region (Post-2020 SAPBIO) is the Mediterranean's biodiversity strategy to 2030. It was adopted under Article 3 of the SPA/BD Protocol, which asks Parties to adopt strategies, plans and programmes for biodiversity, and it was built to contribute to the CBD's global framework through a Mediterranean lens. Non-indigenous and invasive species are one of its priority threats.

2003First SAPBIO adoptedBarcelona Convention
2018SAPBIO evaluatedPeriod 2004–2018
2019Post-2020 SAPBIO requestedCOP 21 · IG.24/7
2021Post-2020 SAPBIO adoptedCOP 22 · IG.25/11
2022Kunming-Montreal GBFCBD COP 15 · 15/4
2025Mid-term assessmentStart-up activities
2027ReviewResults for 2027
2030Review · targets dueVision to 2050

Structure

Built on the same ladder as the CBD framework

The programme follows the hierarchy used by the CBD: a long-term vision, a mission for this decade, goals, targets and actions. Its three goals are adapted from those of the global framework, and its targets are meant to be specific, measurable and time-bound, with expected results set for both 2027 and 2030.

Vision2050

Marine and coastal biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, sustaining a healthy Mediterranean for nature and people.

Mission2030

Start to reverse the loss of biodiversity and put the Mediterranean on the path to recovery.

Goals3

Reduce threats · meet people's needs · enable transformative change.

Targets27

Grouped under 10 headings drawn from the sub-regional assessments.

Actions42

About a third regional, the rest mainly national, each with results for 2027 and 2030.

Goal 1 · 8 targets

Reduce the threats to biodiversity

1.1Specific pressures on protected species and habitats
1.2Non-indigenous and invasive species
1.3Pollution control
1.430% protected through MCPAs and OECMs
1.5Areas with enhanced protection
1.6Ecosystem restoration
1.7Good Environmental Status
1.8Climate change

Goal 2 · 9 targets

Ensure biodiversity meets people's needs

2.1Knowledge on threatened species
2.2Knowledge on threatened habitats
2.3Knowledge sharing in an open platform
2.4Fishing gears, by-catch and IUU fishing
2.5Small-scale fisheries
2.6Sustainable aquaculture
2.7Ecosystem approach and spatial planning
2.8Cross-sectoral integration
2.9Governance and participation

Goal 3 · 10 targets

Enable transformative change

3.1IMAP compliance
3.2SAPBIO assessment and reporting
3.3Means for assessment
3.4Capacity development
3.5Networking and knowledge sharing
3.6Public awareness
3.7Outreach and education
3.8Employment in conservation
3.9Sustainable funding
3.10Cooperation

Focus · Target 1.2 and four actions

What SAPBIO commits to on non-indigenous species

SAPBIO describes invasive species as one of the main threats to Mediterranean marine biodiversity, spread by shipping through ballast water and hull fouling, by corridors and waterways, by aquaculture and by the trade in live organisms, and amplified by warming waters. It calls for priority species and pathways to be listed in every country and for data to be shared through Mediterranean networks such as MAMIAS.

Target 1.2 · by 2030

Prevent, manage and control NIS and their introduction pathways

Minimise the impact of non-indigenous species, and of invasive species in particular, on ecosystem integrity, through three levers:

iProtect the most vulnerable ecosystems

iiImplement the regional ballast water strategy in every country

iiiManage the other pathways of introduction

Action	Start-up activitiesChecked at the mid-term assessment	Expected by 2027Checked at the 2027 review	Expected by 2030Checked at the 2030 review
4 · NIS/IAS commitmentRatify the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention and adopt the regional ballast water strategy (2022–2027) High · national	Countries have started the steps to write the BWM Convention and the biofouling guidelines into national law.	Most countries have taken those steps.	All countries cooperate in enforcing the Mediterranean Ballast Water Management Strategy.
5 · NIS/IAS capacityStrengthen national capacity to deal with marine alien species Very high · regional and national	Countries have started baseline studies: year of first record, pathway and its certainty, population status.	Most countries have baseline studies with dated, georeferenced records and run monitoring within IMAP.	All countries monitor alien species, their pathways and population trends within IMAP, including species used in aquaculture.
6 · NIS/IAS controlTake field action to mitigate the impact of NIS and IAS High · national	Most countries have identified vulnerable areas and priority sites and started monitoring, especially at ports and entry pathways.	A significant reduction in the rate of new introductions, and control or eradication of the most problematic species in at least 50% of priority sites.	Impacts prevented in 100% of the most vulnerable areas, 50% fewer protected species threatened, 50% of the most significant pathways managed.
20 · NIS/IAS databaseDevelop MAMIAS, the shared georeferenced database, to monitor status and pathways and support early warning Very high · regional	National baselines and early-warning systems in place, and NIS data starting to flow into MAMIAS.	NIS data are shared through MAMIAS, with online tools and web services to search and extract them.	All Mediterranean countries continuously monitor NIS status and pathways and share them in MAMIAS.

The four NIS actions of Annex III, read left to right. Each stage is the reference for one of the three reviews described below.

According to the 2023 Mediterranean Quality Status Report (MED QSR), 1,011 non-indigenous species have been recorded in Mediterranean waters, 748 of them established; see the IMAP page.

Analysis · SAPBIO and the Kunming-Montreal GBF

SAPBIO Target 1.2 next to GBF Target 6

SAPBIO was adopted in December 2021, a year before the CBD agreed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in December 2022. Its own correspondence table therefore links Target 1.2 to Target 5 of the draft framework, which became Target 6 in the final text.

Both texts follow the same logic of pathways, prevention, then eradication and control. Where they differ is in what they count. The GBF sets a single headline number for the rate of new introductions and establishments, while SAPBIO counts pathways managed, sites protected and protected species relieved.

Element	Post-2020 SAPBIO (2021)	Kunming-Montreal GBF (2022)
Pathways	Ballast water strategy in all countries; 50% of the most significant pathways effectively managed by 2030 (Action 6)	Identify and manage pathways of introduction
New introductions	A significant reduction in the rate of new introductions by 2027, with no fixed percentage	Rate of introduction and establishment of other known or potential invasive species reduced by at least 50% by 2030
Priority species	Control or eradication of the most problematic species, in at least 50% of priority sites by 2027	Prevent introduction and establishment of priority invasive species
Priority places	Impacts prevented in 100% of the most vulnerable areas by 2030	Eradicate or control invasive species, especially in priority sites such as islands
Biodiversity outcome	50% fewer protected species threatened by invasive species by 2030	Eliminate, minimise, reduce or mitigate impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services
Measured by	IMAP Common Indicator 6 and national data shared in MAMIAS (Actions 5 and 20)	Headline indicator 6.1, rate of invasive alien species establishment

What it means in practice

To report on GBF Target 6, a Mediterranean country needs a dated, validated record of each first introduction and establishment. That is exactly what SAPBIO Actions 5 and 20 ask for: baseline studies with the year of first record, the pathway and its certainty, shared through MAMIAS.

Where MAMIAS helps

A single regional database lets the same records serve three reporting duties at once: SAPBIO progress at the Barcelona Convention, IMAP Common Indicator 6, and the GBF national report on headline indicator 6.1.

One record, three reports.

Explore NIS data Read about IMAP

Implementation

Who carries it out, and how progress is checked

Countries

Identify national contributions and update their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, then report on progress to the Barcelona Convention COP.

SPA/RAC

Supports implementation through technical cooperation, capacity building and resource mobilisation, with a network of SAPBIO National Correspondents in every country.

2025

Mid-term assessment

Focuses on the Post-2020 SAPBIO start-up activities: whether countries have started the baselines, legal steps and monitoring each action calls for.

2027

Review

Measures progress against the expected results for 2027.

2030

Review

Measures achievement of the expected results and targets for 2030.

ReferenceStart-up activities, Annex III

ReferenceMonitoring Framework for the assessment of the collective implementation of the Post-2020 SAPBIO, in line with the monitoring framework of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Sources

UNEP/MAP, Decision IG.25/11, Post-2020 Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Mediterranean Region (Post-2020 SAPBIO), COP 22, 2021. UNEP/MED IG.25/27. Document
Convention on Biological Diversity, Decision 15/4, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, 2022.
UNEP/MAP, Decision IG.27/6, EcAp Policy and Roadmap 2026–2035 and IMAP, COP 24, 2025.
UNEP/MAP, 2023 Mediterranean Quality Status Report (MED QSR), for all figures on non-indigenous species. medqsr2023.info-rac.org