On 9 May the UNEP/MAP Coordinator Tatjana Hema met with Leila Chikhaoui, Minister of the Environment of Tunisia, and heard an unequivocal statement of support to the Mediterranean Action Plan and commitment to the implementation of the Convention for the protection of the marine environment and the coastal region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention).
Minister Chikhaoui reaffirmed the Ministry’s determination to secure the ratification of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Protocol and acknowledged the importance of ratifying the Prevention and Emergency Protocol.
The meeting with Minister Chikhaoui was part of an official visit that Ms. Hema paid to Tunisia on 9-11 May 2022. The country currently is the Vice-President of the Bureau of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and the Vice-chair of the Compliance Committee. Ms. Hema said that “since the establishment of the UNEP/MAP in 1975 and the adoption of the Barcelona Convention, Tunisia has been one of the most dynamic Contracting Parties that have inspired the creation and initiation of several strategies and programmes for the benefit of the Mediterranean region”.
Tunisia hosts the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (SPA/RAC) – the “Biodiversity centre” of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system since 1985. In 1994 a landmark conference titled “Agenda 21 for the Mediterranean” took place in Tunis and led to the adoption of the first Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD).
Strengthening cooperation
Following the bilateral meeting with the UNEP/MAP Coordinator, Minister Chikhaoui chaired a working session held in the premises of the Ministry of the Environment during which Ms. Hema conferred on the status of implementation of the various UNEP/MAP activities and projects with the Tunisia Focal Points of the MAP Components.
The Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) Focal Point Mohamed Sghaier Ben Jeddou attended the meetings and the subsequent working session that took stock of bilateral cooperation and considered opportunities to strengthen it.
The UNEP/MAP Coordinator observed that the broad public interest that the recent sinking of a tanker vessel off the southeastern coast of Tunisia has triggered could be harnessed for the benefit of conservation efforts. The Gulf of Gabes, where the incident occurred, is known to be one of the breeding grounds of the emblematic Posidonia oceanica meadows.
“We can contribute the well-developed technical toolkit honed by SPA/RAC to support our partners in Tunisia in the identification of zones that should be safeguarded as a matter of priority by declaring them as Marine and Coastal Protected Areas,” said Khalil Attia, Director of the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas.
On 10 May the UNEP/MAP Coordinator met with Ms. Asma Sehiri, the head of the general secretariat for marine affairs of the Tunisia government. Unlocking the potential of the blue economy sustainably was the main theme of the discussion. The UNEP/MAP Coordinator applauded ongoing efforts aiming to devise a national action plan on the blue economy and expressed the Mediterranean Action Plan’s willingness to support Tunisia in the design and implementation of cross-sectoral approaches that reconcile environmental protection with the development of key sectors such as tourism, shipping, aquaculture, and desalination.
Collaboration on public outreach and awareness-raising for a broad uptake of the principles of a sustainable blue economy were also discussed during the meeting with Ms. Sehiri.
Meeting with Dhekra Gharbi, Manager of the Integrated Depollution Program for the Lake Bizerte Region (EcoPACT) on 10 May, Ms. Hema pledged UNEP/MAP’s technical support, particularly on pollution prevention and control, and highlighted the importance of EcoPACT’s contribution to the implementation of the Barcelona Convention and its protocols. Several follow-up actions will take place in the coming months, including a series of webinars aimed at aligning the project’s activities with the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system’s mandate (watch Ms. Hema’s statement).
On 10 May Ms. Hema also signed a Memorandum of Understanding between UNEP/MAP and its Regional Activity Centre SPA/RAC, and the National Environmental Protection Agency of Tunisia, represented by its Director-General Lotfi Ben Said, regarding the implementation of the Pollution-related activities of the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (IMAP). The relevant activities are being rolled out under the IMAP-MPA project funded by the European Union.
A tribute to SPA/RAC
The visit ended with a townhall meeting convened in the SPA/RAC premises in Tunis. Ms. Hema commended the Centre’s staff and paid tribute to the “remarkable women and men including young colleagues whose commitment drives our endeavor for the protection of Mediterranean biodiversity forward”.
“I am proud of what this Regional Activity Centre of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system has delivered over the years at the service of our Contracting parties and the Region,” Ms. Hema said.
The visit coincided with the launch of a campaign to phase out plastic bags in the country—a Tunisian initiative supported by UNEP/MAP through its Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production, MedWaves.
