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This op-ed by Gaetano Leone, Coordinator, Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme, Barcelona Convention Secretariat, first appeared in Spanish in El País

The European Ocean Coalition (EU4Ocean) launched on 8 June 2020 (World Oceans Day). The initiative connects organizations, projects and people that contribute to ocean literacy and to the sustainable management of the ocean. Supported by the European Commission, the initiative, which was launched on World Ocean Day, aims at boosting public awareness and advocacy for a healthy ocean across the European Union.

The Secretariat of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols invites Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) to apply for accreditation as partners of the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP). Accredited NGOs are referred to as MAP Partners. Partnerships offer a mechanism for all actors to become involved in the work of UNEP/MAP in support of the implementation of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols.

UNEP/MAP Deputy Coordinator Tatjana Hema will speak at the event organized by the

Ms. Letícia Carvalho, Head of the Marine and Fresh Water Branch at the Ecosystem Division of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will speak at the 2020 edition of the Forum Mondial de la Mer, which will take place on the 15th July 2020. [Registration is mandatory: https://bit.ly/38hz3Ax].

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EDITORIAL By Gaetano Leone, Coordinator, UNEP/MAP—Barcelona Convention Secretariat The last time I wrote for MED-NEWS, our MAP system newsletter, COVID-19 was still rising on the horizon as an unprecedented global threat. We are now beginning to come to terms with the hefty toll that the pandemic has taken through loss of life, human suffering and massive economic disruptions in our region.

Marking World Oceans Day in the Mediterranean: a message from Gaetano Leone, Coordinator, UNEP/MAP—Barcelona Convention Secretariat

In response to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, Mediterranean countries are in the process of introducing policy, measures and stimulus packages to support recovery. Millions of jobs are on the line and according to initial estimates, lockdowns aiming to weather the pandemic will have already knocked several percentage points off national income. Yet, despite the trail of destruction that COVID-19 is leaving in its wake, the region must seize a historic opportunity to recover better.

The United Nations proclaimed 22 May as the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. The slogan chosen for the 2020 edition of IBD –“Our solutions are in nature”— emphasizes the importance of working together at all levels to build a future of life in harmony with nature.

The Advisory Committee of the Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of the Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean Region (SAPBIO) held an online meeting on 2 April 2020 to examine the roadmap for the elaboration of a post-2020 SAPBIO in the context of preparations for the post-2020 Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Started by WWF and partners as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour is now one of the world's largest grassroots movements for the environment. Held every year on the last Saturday of March, Earth Hour engages millions of people in more than 180 countries, switching off their lights to show support for our planet.  Earth Hour goes beyond the symbolic action of switching lights off and has become a catalyst for positive environmental impact.

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2021–2030 as the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, following a proposal for action by over 70 countries from all latitudes. The UN Decade positions the restoration of ecosystems as a major nature-based solution towards meeting a wide range of global development goals and national priorities.

A new project implemented by the Mediterranean Action Plan of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) and funded by the European Union went underway in March 2020 with the two-pronged aim of strengthening national capabilities in integrated monitoring of the Mediterranean Sea and coast and enhancing the management of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean region.

Women at the helm of green entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean Under the auspices of UNEP/MAP, the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention adopted in 2016 a Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan for the Mediterranean region.The UNEP/MAP’s Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP/RAC) provides support to Contracting Parties in its implementation, including through the Switchmed programme.

UNEP/MAP was instrumental in the introduction of a ban on single-use plastic bags in Tunisia. The ban, which entered into force on 1 March 2020 for supermarkets by virtue of Decree No. 32 dated 16 January 2020, prohibits the manufacturing, import and use of conventional single-use plastic bags. Compostable and reusable plastic bags will still be allowed in the market as an alternative, provided that they bear a specific marking. A comprehensive ban will be extended to all producers and suppliers of plastic bags by 1 January 2021.

World Wildlife Day (3 March) is an opportunity to beat the drum for the fauna and flora of the Mediterranean because they deserve all the attention that they can get. Unsustainable human activities and overexploitation of natural resources have taken a hefty toll on biodiversity in Mare Nostrum.

The Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) received the Excellence in the Mediterranean Award, conferred by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), in recognition of commitment to the protection of the marine and coastal environment and to sustainable development in the region. UNEP/MAP—Barcelona Convention Secretariat Coordinator Gaetano Leone received the award on 21 February 2020 during a ceremony held in the context of the 14th Plenary Session of PAM.

Article by Gaetano Leone, Coordinator, UN Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan - Barcelona Convention Secretariat Words matter, especially when they are committed to paper at the intergovernmental meeting of ministers and senior officials representing 21 Mediterranean countries and the European Union.

On 21-23 January 2020 the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) joined forces with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO), the Italian Oceanographic Commission, the European Commission and the Mediterranean Science Commission to hold a workshop dedicated to the Mediterranean Sea and Coast in the context of preparations for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).

The 21st Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (COP21) took place on 2-5 December 2019 in Castel dell’Ovo, a medieval seaside castle in Naples, Italy. The COP21 report is being finalized along with the 14 decisions adopted by the Contracting Parties. The meeting documents will be published on the UNEP/MAP website: www.unepmap.org Unequivocal signals of commitment and support from the Contracting Parties

UNEP/MAP – Barcelona Convention Secretariat Deputy Coordinator Tatjana Hema took part in the 14th meeting of the Circle of Mediterranean Parliamentarians for Sustainable Development (COMPSUD) on 17 December 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. The meeting, which the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco hosted, agreed to launch of a “Decade of Sustainable Development in the Mediterranean” and on a number of related priority actions.

UNEP/MAP Deputy Coordinator Tatjana Hema and Mr. Khalil Attia, SPA/RAC Director, participated in the Mediterranean Seminar on Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas held in Tirana, Albania, on 12 December 2019.

Two days after the conclusion of COP21 of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (Naples, Italy, 2-5 December 2019), Mr Gaetano Leone, UNEP/MAP — Barcelona Convention Secretariat Coordinator participated in a discussion hosted by H.E. Ms. Teresa Ribera, Minister for the Ecological Transition of Spain, and entitled the “Mediterranean Sea and climate change”.

President of the Bureau of the Contracting Parties, Your Excellency Sergio Costa, Minister of Environment of Italy, Excellencies, Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director Of UNEP, Distinguished delegates, Heads of MAP Components, Representatives of media, Colleagues,