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22.05.2014 Monitoring experts designated by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, as well as interested stakeholders, participated in the first Meeting of the Mediterranean Correspondence Group on Monitoring (CORMON) under the Ecosystem Approach (EcAp). The meeting was held in Athens, Greece, on 8 and 9 May 2014, and organized by UNEP/MAP, the Barcelona Convention Secretariat. It aimed to further specify the monitoring needs of the pollution and litter related Ecological Objectives, and indicators set out by the EcAp roadmap.

14.05.2014 Ministers from countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) encouraged the Union to closely cooperate with the Barcelona Convention for reducing pollution pressures and increasing resource efficiency. Ministers in charge of environment and climate change from the 43 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) gathered on 13 May 2014 in Athens within the framework the Horizon 2020.

The H2020 Mediterranean Report is a joint effort of the EEA and UNEP/MAP resulting from the creation of a regular review mechanism of environmental progress in the three H2020 policy priorities. These are municipal waste, urban waste water and industrial pollution. The report also serves as a contribution to the mid-term review of the H2020 initiative. Click here to download the Horizon 2020 Mediterranean report

The ECAP Correspondence Group on Monitoring (CORMON) will hold its first meeting on 8 and 9 May 2014 in Athens, with a focus on monitoring the pollution and litter cluster. Experts from contracting parties, and NGOS are expected to attend the meeting. Building on the outcomes of the last CORGEST meeting on common indicators, the group will review a proposal on major elements of the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme with regards to contaminants, eutrophication and marine litter.

The use of plastic bags leaves enormous environmental damage. Almost never reused, and often ending up as litter, they cause the death of at least one million birds and 100,000 marine mammals each year. Under the auspices of the UNEP/MAP - the Barcelona Convention Secretariat, and with focus on the reduction of plastic carrier bags usage, a major problem for the marine environment, the 19th "Clean-Up the Med 2014" campaign was launched in Athens on 29th April 2014.

A CBD regional workshop jointly organized with the Barcelona Convention Secretariat facilitates the description of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs) in the Mediterranean.

At their 18th Ordinary Meeting in December 2013, the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention requested the Secretariat to the Barcelona Convention / Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) to launch the review process of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD), adopted in 2005. The Plan Bleu Regional Activity Centre (PB/RAC) was also requested to support the process through the provision of monitoring information and reporting data on the MSSD implementation, including from relevant programmes in the Mediterranean region that have an impact on MSSD outcomes.

The focal points of UNEP/MAP MED POL Programme for the Assessment and Control of Pollution in the Mediterranean Region acknowledged the progress made in the implementation of the Strategic Action Plans/National Action Plans (SAP/NAPs) on pollution reduction and control, with regards to the national legal, and regulatory policy framework, reporting capacities as well as their NAP investment portfolio.

UNEP/MAP and CBD are organizing a Mediterranean regional workshop to facilitate the description of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs), from 7 to 11 April 2014, in Málaga, Spain. The workshop will gather experts from the Mediterranean region, with solid scientific knowledge and research experience related to ecologically or biologically significant marine areas, and is financially supported by the Government of Spain, the UNEP/MAP Mediterranean Trust Fund and the European Commission.

The Focal Points of the MED POL Programme for the Assessment and Control of Pollution in the Mediterranean Region will meet in Athens (Greece) from 26 to 28 March 2014 in the presence of representatives of 22 Contracting Parties, as well as partners. The meeting aims to initiate work on the process of updating the National Action Plans (NAPs) to address land-based pollution, and on the third 5-year cycle of reporting on National Baseline Budgets of Pollutant Emissions and Releases (NBBs).

More than 100 participants attended the workshop organized by SCP/RAC and MEDPOL on Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) management in Alexandria, with the support of the Egyptian Ministry of State of Environmental Affairs (MSEA), from 24 to 27 February on 2014. The workshop aimed at introducing the environmentally sound management (ESM) of PCBs to local experts while also training them on oil sampling and analysis of PCBs by using the semi-mobile analyzer L2000DX.

The MedPartnership Steering Committee concluded its fourth meeting held in Hammamet, Tunisia, from 17 to 20 February 2014, in the presence of country focal points, executing partners and donors. The meeting reviewed the activities implemented under the four components of the project throughout 2012-2013 highlighting challenges and lessons learnt.

Tunisia, 17 February 2014 - With the kind support and hosting of the Government of Tunisia, the Steering Committee of the MedPartnership project is holding its fourth meeting from 17 to 20 February 2014.

The review process of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) was launched today by the Maltese Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change, the Hon Mr Leo Brincat, during a ceremony held in Malta. This follows a decision of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention made during their recent 18th ordinary meeting in Istanbul (CoP18). The launching was attended by Mr. Murat Turan, representing the Bureau Presidency of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, Ms.

Ministers and Heads of Delegations from 21 Mediterranean Countries Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, and the European Commission committed to take all the necessary measures to make the Mediterranean a clean, healthy and productive sea with conserved ecosystems. This came in the framework of the 18th Ordinary Contracting parties meeting (CoP 18) that was held in Turkey from 3 to 6 December, organized by UNEP/MAP, the Barcelona Convention Secretariat and hosted by the Turkish Government.

Representatives of 21 Mediterranean countries and the European Union started their 4-day discussions on the state of their shared marine and coastal environment and on policy decisions to ensure a healthy and productive Mediterranean. This comes within the framework of the 18th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of Mediterranean and its Protocols (CoP18), held every two years.

Leading policy-makers from 21 Mediterranean countries as well as the European Union will meet in Istanbul on 3-6 December 2013 to discuss the state of their shared marine and coastal environment and make policy decisions to ensure a healthy and productive Mediterranean.

The Workshop on Regional Response Capacity and Co-ordination for Major Oil Spill in the Mediterranean Sea (MEDEXPOL 2013), will be held in Athens, Greece between on 10-12 December 2013. As announced at the 1st Meeting of the ad hoc Working Group on the Offshore Protocol, MEDEXPOL 2013 will also address contingency planning and response operations in case of an offshore incident as well as progress made in the implementation of Decision IG.20/12 on the Action Plan to implement the Offshore Protocol. The principal objectives of the Workshop will be:

A National Seminar on the Ballast Water Management Convention was held in Algeria between the 1 and 2 October 2013. The Seminar, which was organised by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) in close co-operation with the Ministry of Transport of Algeria was funded by IMO’s Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme (ITCP) and supported by the GEF/UNDP/IMO GloBallast Partnerships Project. REMPEC is the Regional Coordinating Organization (RCO) for the GloBallast Project in the Mediterranean.

Five aircraft from Algeria, France, Italy, Morocco and Spain operated twelve flights to detect marine pollution from ships in a designated area of the Western Mediterranean between 24 and 26 June 2013. This came within the Coordinated Aerial Surveillance Operation for illicit ship pollution discharges (OSCAR-MED 2013) in the Western Mediterranean, organised by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC).

The Offshore Protocol Working Group held its 1st Meeting in Valletta, Malta on 13-14 June 2013, pursuant to a request by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention by their Decision (IG.20/12) related to the Action Plan for the implementation of the Offshore Protocol. More than 40 participants attended the meeting that was organized by REMPEC, including representatives of 14 Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention. They benefited from the experience of well-known regulators and experts from various governments, international organizations and operators.

The 15th meeting of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) was held from 10 to 12 June 2013, hosted by the Maltese Government In his welcoming address, H.E. Leo Brincat, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, and Climate Change of Malta said that the MCSD could evolve in a platform that would promote both green and blue growth in the Mediterranean region. “Things can only evolve when each one of our member countries shoulders responsibility at national, regional and global level” he added.

Athens, 5 June 2013 - Under the auspices and in the presence of his Excellency Pr. Evangelos Livieratos, Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change and on the occasion of Environment Day, the Hellenic Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change and the United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) held a presentation ceremony of the State of the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment Report today.

The steering committee of the “Update Priority Investment Projects for Protecting the Mediterranean Sea from Pollution” held its third meeting, on 17 April in Athens, with a particular focus on the investment portfolio of the National Action Plans (NAPs).

The 15th meeting of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) will be held in Malta from 10 to 12 June 2013.