News

Three representatives of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), namely Ms Anne-France Didier director of Plan Bleu, Ms Tatjana Hema MAP Deputy Coordinator a.i. and MED POL Programme officer, and Mr. Gabino Gonzalez head of REMPEC Office, participated to the conference "Climate, biodiversity, blue growth: what solutions for the Mediterranean" and highlighted the role and related actions carried out within the Barcelona Convention.

Solheim pledges to tackle major environmental issues such as ocean and air pollution, climate change, and nexus between conflict, migration and the environment

Climate and biodiversity, solutions for the Mediterranean is the title of the conference by Segolene Royal, French Minister for Environment, Energy and the Sea, in charge of international relations on climate and president of COP 21. The conference will take place on 27 june at 3pm  in Paris.    

16.06.2016 UNEP announced on 13 June 2016 its BAOBAB award winners. Among those was Ms. Tatiana Hema MED POL programme officer of UNEP/MAP, who won the Environmental Service Award.

The Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) 2016-2025 provides a strategic policy framework for securing a sustainable future for the Mediterranean region consistent with Sustainable Development Goals.

The Votsalakia Beach in Piraeus, Greece embraced over 200 volunteers on that sunny Sunday in a cleanup action organized by the MedSOS under the auspices of UNEP/MAP. The volunteers participating ranged from nearby soccer club players, employees of the private sector and other regional environmental and voluntary organizations, to local inhabitants of the area and even various beach guests, who decided to stop their tanning and give a hand as well.

The United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) and the European Environment Agency (EEA) agreed on a joint work plan for the period 2016-2021, to contribute towards creating solid knowledge base and awareness among policy makers, civil society and the public at large, about the state of the marine and coastal environment in the Mediterranean and its sustainable development.

UNEP/MAP has launched its new updated Marine Litter Assessment in the Mediterranean on 26 May 2016, within the framework of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), held in Kenya, Nairobi.

The second edition of the on-line MedOpen Climate Variability and Change (CVC) Advanced training session will be available again in May 2016. This session is organized in order to respond to the great interest of target users who had applied for the MedOpen CVC Advanced training session in 2015 held within the MedPartnership project. The session will be available on-line, in the frame of the user-friendly PAP/RAC MedOpen virtual training course, developed in English and completely free of charge.

The UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat succeeded in cutting its paper consumption by 85% during the 19th ordinary meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention held in Athens from 9 to 12 February 2016, as compared to its last CoP meeting held in December 2013.

At their 19th Ordinary Meeting (COP 19, Athens, Greece, 9-12 February 2016), the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) - namely 21 Mediterranean countries and the European Union - adopted a novel and ambitious Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme and related Assessment Criteria (IMAP).

Athens declaration Mediterranean Ministers adopted the Athens Declaration, in which they pledged to implement the instruments, programmes, action plans and guidelines adopted at Barcelona Convention CoP19 -to prevent pollution from maritime transport, marine exploration, and land-based activities, protect biodiversity, manage coastal zones, and increase the resilience of the Mediterranean to the impacts of climate change- as crucial means for the achievement of the objectives of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols.

During a high level event of the Barcelona Convention CoP 19 meeting, hosted by the Greek Government in Athens, Mediterranean ministers and parties contracted to the Convention, renewed their commitment to enhance measures to reduce pressures on their marine and coastal environment.

The 19th meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention to be held in Athens The 19th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention hosted by the Hellenic Government, will be held in Athens from 9 to 12 February 2016, with the participation of the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw.

In an attempt to promote greener meetings, the UNEP/MAP set an awareness raising booth during its Focal Points meeting held from 13 to 16 October in Athens. The awareness raising activity included the use of a short “paperless” digital presentation that provided details showing how to properly plan an event to reduce its ecological footprint and paper consumption, to implement certifications (such as ISO 20121 for sustainable management system), and to use a simple web-based tool to successfully calculate the CO2 emissions generated from every meeting.

The meeting of the Mediterranean Action Plan focal points was opened in Athens, Greece, on 13 October 2015, in the presence of representatives from 21 Mediterranean countries, the European Union, donors and partners.

Under the main theme “partnerships, collaboration and synergies”, there were more than 100 Mediterranean and European actors involved in the protection of coastal zones, including governments, local authorities, public sector, coast management organizations, associations, and funding agencies, to celebrate Coast Day in the Mediterranean on 25 September 2015 in Antibes, France.

Since January 2015, the MAP's Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) has been involved in the Preparedness for Oil-polluted Shoreline cleanup and Oiled Wildlife interventions – POSOW II Project, a follow up to the POSOW I Project, co-funded by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (DG ECHO) and coordinated by the Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution (Cedre, France).

The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) is convening a Meeting of the Mediterranean Network of Law Enforcement Officials relating to MARPOL within the framework of the Barcelona Convention (MENELAS) in Toulon, France, from 29 September 2015 to 1 October 2015, which is partly financed by voluntary contributions from the Government of France and the Government of Malta and possibly others.

This video introduces the issue of marine litter and the role that the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) can play in solving the problem. More at: www.unep.org/gpa/gpml  

The Eleventh Meeting of the Focal Points of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) was held in Malta, from 15 to 17 June 2015.

The Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development (MCSD) held its 16th meeting from 9 to 11 June 2015, in Marrakesh, hosted by the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) and Plan Bleu.

By its Decision IG.20/13 (Governance) the 17th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocol has requested the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) of the Barcelona Convention to complete the review of the list of MAP Partners on the basis of the criteria established in Decision 19/6 on “MAP/ Civil society cooperation and partnership”. On the road to the Nineteenth Meeting of the Contracting Parties that will be held in Athens in February 2016, UNEP/MAP Secretariat invites Mediterranean NGOs to be accredited as new MAP Partners.

Living in an increasingly globalized world, inhabited by 7 billion people, it is easy to underestimate the power of individual action. The annual World Environment Day reminds people across the globe that it is our personal choices that shape the world around us. Our daily decisions as consumers, multiplied by billions, have a colossal impact on the environment – some of them contribute to the further depletion of natural resources, others help to protect fragile ecosystems. Every time - the choice is ours.

Under the auspices of the Ministry for Environment of the Hellenic Republic, the United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) launched the celebration of its 40th anniversary in Athens, Greece on 19 May 2015. The launching came within the framework of the meeting of the MAP National Focal Points aiming to discuss the UNEP/MAP draft Mid-term Strategy for the period 2016-2021.