Mediterranean Coast Day (25 September) is an annual observance introduced by the Mediterranean Action Plan of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP). PAP/RAC, the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre dedicated to the protection and sustainable management of the coastal zones, established Mediterranean Coast Day within the framework of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention). The date of 25 September was selected for this observance to commemorate the first ratification of the ICZM Protocol by Slovenia.
This year's edition of Mediterranean Coast Day will focus on coastal resilience—a particularly topical theme at a time when the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation in the Mediterranean are becoming ominously clear.
The official Mediterranean Coast Day ceremony will take place on 28 September 2022 in Tangier, Morocco, with the participation of H.E. Dr Leila Benali, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development of Morocco.
Why is coastal resilience important?
The Mediterranean basin is recognized as a climate change hotspot. The network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change (MedECC), a science-policy interface that the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system supports, indicated in its first Mediterranean Assessment Report that “it is virtually certain that sea surface warming will continue during the 21st century by 1°C to 4°C depending on the scenario (low or high greenhouse gas emissions) and likely that deep waters will warm more in the Mediterranean than in other oceans in the world”.
As biologically active interfaces where complex land-sea interactions are at play, coastal zones are a hotspot of vulnerability. In addition to hosting critical natural habitats, the coast underpins the Mediterranean blue economy with millions of jobs and a significant chunk of national GDP at stake. Climate change is interacting with existing drivers of environmental degradation, notably urbanization and pollution in its multiple forms, to exacerbate the stress that the Mediterranean coast reels under.
Coastal communities must grapple with heightened disaster risks, such as extreme weather events that cause flooding and erosion, and with the salinization of river deltas and aquifers that sustain agriculture, food security and livelihoods. Current estimates of future sea level rise range from 0.43 meter to 2.5 meter by 2100. Along the North African coast, a sea level rise of one meter would affect approximately 41,500 square kilometers of land and at least 37 million people.
How can coastal resilience be strengthened?
Adaptation to climate change and the implementation of the legal instruments adopted under the Barcelona Convention should be at the heart of development policies and coastal planning at all levels. Coastal development at the national and local levels must consider proven nature-based solutions, such as maintaining or restoring wetlands, dunes and salt marshes that represent a bulwark against the vagaries of a changing climate.
Everyone has a role to play:
- Governments and national authorities should press ahead with the field implementation of the ICZM Protocol, which constitutes a comprehensive and indispensable instrument that can serve to beef up coastal resilience. The technical toolkit developed under the ICZM Protocol, including Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), can address a range of environmental challenges that exacerbate the impacts of climate change: unsustainable urbanization and tourism, overfishing and pollution in its multiple forms, including air pollution from ships.
- Coastal cities, local authorities and municipalities should engage with citizens in genuinely inclusive planning exercises. They can use planning tools recommended by PAP/RAC to preserve natural coastal areas and address climate change at the local level. This is crucial because adaptation matters most at the local level, where vulnerable communities are exposed to disruptive shocks that can upend their livelihoods, health and wellbeing.
- Citizens have agency and can catalyze coast-friendly policies and private sector responses by virtue of their individual actions. Purchasing choices at the supermarket, engagement with local authorities at the town hall and voting or investment decisions (example: where to build or buy real estate property) can help entrench sustainability and reduce vulnerability. For instance, the use of local resources and traditional building practices will bolster the communities’ ability to live in harmony with nature and, in certain contexts, to withstand potential shocks induced by a changing climate.
Join us in marking Mediterranean Coast Day
The slogan of Mediterranean Coast Day (introduced in 2020) is “The Mediterranean needs you. If you put a seashell to your ear, you will hear it calling”.
Mediterranean Coast Day has become an annual regional festival dedicated to the sustainability and health of the coastal zones. On 25 September and during the week that ensues, several events and activities are organized by MAP Partners and Civil Society Organizations working in the region.
Here are three steps you can take to be part of this important regional celebration:
- Visit the Mediterranean Coast Day website, where communication literature and information about events taking place around the Mediterranean can be found.
- Become an advocate for the Mediterranean coasts –consider organizing your own awareness-raising event and raise your voice for a healthy and resilient Mediterranean coast. If you are planning an event, please let PAP/RAC know.
- Take part in the digital campaign and help us spread the word on your favorite social media platforms by using the hashtag #MedCoastDay in your posts.
