News

Under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme /Mediterranean Action Plan, the nationwide "Clean-Up the Med 2013" campaign, coordinated by the MedSOS in Greece, was launched in Athens on 24 April 2013. Among the participants to the event were representatives of the UNEP/MAP, academic institutions, the scientific community, national and local authorities, environmental NGOs, journalists and volunteers.

The MedPartnership Coordination group held its annual meeting at the UNESCO in Paris, France from 3 to 5 April 2013 and was attended by experts from all executing partners of the MedPartnership, as well as representatives from UNEP DEPI and the European Commission.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as the Secretariat of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP), is pleased to pre-launch the online Global SCP Clearinghouse, a unique one-stop hub dedicated to advancing Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) worldwide.

The “State of the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment Report” report provides information on the overall nature of Mediterranean ecosystems and defines pressures affecting the state of Mediterranean’s environment, to which 21 countries have coast. It also offers detailed information on the vital services that coastal and marine habitats provide to their inhabitants. To get the full version click here

H. E. Mr. Evangelos Livieratos Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Greece visited the offices of UNEP/MAP in Athens and met with the Executive Secretary and Coordinator Maria Luisa Silva Mejías. The discussion revolved around strengthening and expanding the cooperation between the Ministry and the UNEP/MAP, particularly vis-à-vis the monitoring and pollution programmes. In particular, they looked into ways to enhance the capacity of the system by introducing new technologies to analyze and present the monitoring information.

The European Union has announced its accession to the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution resulting from exploration and exploitation of the continental shelf and the seabed and its subsoil. With this new accession of the European Union, seven contracting parties would have approved the protocol, which entered into force on 24 March 2011. The Protocol had already been ratified by Albania, Cyprus, Libya, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia. Management and monitoring of the protection of the Mediterranean Sea

The United Nations Environment Programme Coordinating Unit for the Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will be launching on 16 January the “State of the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment Report” for year 2012, in Ankara, Turkey, in coordination with the UNDP Turkey and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The event is set to gather high-ranking officials from Turkey, representatives of the contracting parties of the Barcelona Convention, in Turkey, as well as NGOs partners to the UNEP/MAP.