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Focal points of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) met online on 10-17 September 2021 and paved the way for the 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (COP 22, 7-10 December 2021, Antalya, Turkey). Meetings of the MAP Focal Points, which take place prior to COPs (convened every two years), constitute important milestones as part of the intergovernmental process that UNEP/MAP has been steering since its inception in 1975.

On 24 September 2021 the Secretary-General of the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy Konstantinos Aravossis and UNEP/MAP Coordinator Tatjana Hema met with Lefteris Arapakis, the UNEP Young Champion of the Earth for Europe (2020). The meeting took place on the premises of Enaleia, a social enterprise that Mr. Arapakis co-founded.

The Mediterranean Action Plan of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP)-Barcelona Convention Secretariat will take part in several events and meetings taking place in the context of the IUCN World Conservation Congress (Marseille, France, 3-11 September 2021).

The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), a Regional Activity Centre of UNEP/MAP that is jointly administered with IMO, is assisting affected and likely to be affected countries in response to a fuel leakage incident that occurred on 23 August 2021 at 13:00 (UTC+3) at the Banias thermal power generation plant situated on the Mediterranean shoreline of t

Lire en français The July 2021 issue of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat’s newsletter “MED News”, produced by INFO-RAC, is now available online. Open the newsletter on the INFO/RAC website: http://www.info-rac.org/en/communication/newsletter/med-news-02-2021

On 28 June 2021 the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism of Montenegro hosted the final conference of the GEF Adriatic Project, funded by the GEF (under the “International Water” and “Biodiversity” focal areas) and implemented by the UNEP/MAP Coordinating Unit and the Regional Activity Centres PAP/RAC and

Considerable changes have occurred in the Mediterranean region, not least a disruptive COVID-19 pandemic that has caused suffering and destruction in its wake, with deep ramifications affecting both the environment and socio-economic systems. The pandemic has put hard-won gains in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in jeopardy.

Eligible candidates are invited to apply for the Mediterranean Sustainability Award (WeMed). The application deadline is 15 July 2021. For information on eligibility and the application process, visit www.WeMedAward.org.

More than fifty Members and Observers are taking part in the 19th Meeting of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD), which went underway on 7 June 2021. The three-day meeting virtually hosted by Slovenia will examine a report on sustainable development activities carried out from June 2019 - May 2021, and review progress in the implementation of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development.

At a time when Mediterranean countries are embarking on ambitious post-COVID recovery schemes or, in other contexts, searching a way out of the economic setbacks that the pandemic has caused, the month of June offers two special occasions that should prompt decision-makers to invest in a more sustainable and resilient future: World Environment Day (5 June) and World Oceans Day (8 June).

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This article was prepared to mark the 2021 edition of International Day for Biological Diversity The COVID-19 pandemic was already in full swing when two reports backed by the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system brought new insights into the extent and impact of the triple crisis of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean.

The implementation of the EU-funded EcAp MED III project is proceeding well despite restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first Steering Committee convened on 28 April 2021 (online) heard.

Meeting online on 27-28 April 2021, more than 50 participants representing 20 (out of the 22) Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention agreed on a set of conclusions and recommendations that pave the way for the possible designation of the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, as an “Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides (Med SOx ECA) pursuant to Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)”.

The digital platform inaugurated by the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP/RAC) is part of the endeavor to boost green entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean. TheSwitchers.org enables peer-learning and offers a one-stop-shop for tools and methods developed by SCP/RAC to promote sustainable entrepreneurship in the region. Join the demonstration webinar

Lire en français The April 2021 issue of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat’s newsletter “MED News”, produced by INFO-RAC, is now available online. Open the newsletter on the INFO/RAC website: http://www.info-rac.org/en/communication/newsletter/med-news-01-2021

The project titled “Towards achieving the Good Environmental Status of the Mediterranean Sea and coast through an ecologically representative and efficiently managed and monitored network of Marine Protected Areas” (IMAP-MPA project) held its second Steering Committee meeting online on 24 March 2021.

On 10 March 2021 the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), a UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre jointly administered with IMO, convened the Regional Meeting of National Experts on the Mediterranean Strategy for the Prevention of, and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships (2022-2031).

The theme of the 2021 edition of International Women’s Day celebrates efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more on the global observance of IWD 2021.

The UNEP/MAP Barcelona Convention Secretariat participated in the Online Sub-Regional Workshop titled “Assistance for the implementation of the Barcelona Convention” that the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument of the European Commission (TAIEX) organized online on 16-17 February 2021.

A new report titled "30 by 30: Scenarios to recover biodiversity and rebuild fish stocks in the Mediterranean" by WWF sheds new light on the importance of conservation and advocates for bolder action to ensure that 30 per cent of the Mediterranean Sea be protected by 2030—an objective under negotiation within the UN Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) and enshrined in two landmark strategic plans currently being prepared by SPA/RAC, the

(This article was updated on 6 April 2021) On 17 February 2021, the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre REMPEC received a request for assistance from Israeli authorities regarding the beaching of large quantities of tar balls on Israel’s shoreline. As of 23 February, the volume of tar balls collected along the shoreline had reached an estimated 1,000 cubic metres.

The “contribution of the environmental dimension of sustainable development to building a resilient and inclusive post-pandemic world” was discussed by delegates taking part in the Leadership Dialogues during the Fifth Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5). Mr. Gaetano Leone, Coordinator of UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat, made the following (pre-recorded) statement.

On 16 February 2021 Plan Bleu, a Regional activity Centre of UNEP/MAP, and the Tunisian Ministry of Local Affairs and Environment co-organized an online conference on the State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean (SoED) report and how its findings can feed into plans for sustainable development in Tunisia.

The theme of the 2021 edition of World Wetlands Day (2 February) is “Wetlands and water”. It is an occasion to ponder the crucial role of Mediterranean wetlands.