SPAMI DAY
April 15, 2023, will mark the second SPAMI Day, a day of celebration for every person and entity that values the protection of marine life in the Mediterranean. The SPAMI Day was established by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention at their COP 22 to promote SPAMIs as a conservation model and, more generally, to value and promote action for marine biodiversity preservation…
Convening Synergies at MARLICE 2023:
We Are The Wave
MedWaves joined a community of practitioners working collectively to advance island sustainability during MARLICE ISLAND 2023 in Puerto de la Cruz – Tenerife, Canary Islands. The event reinvigorated the MedWaves spirit: We are the Wave! Joining others to share successes and lessons learned is a way to leverage collective knowledge and project into a future where we are closer to ensuring clean oceans and islands free of marine litter…
What PAMEx will deliver for marine and coastal ecosystems in the Mediterranean
The Plan of Action for a Model Mediterranean Sea by 2030 (PAMEx) hold its first Steering Committee meeting on 24-25 January 2023 in Athens, Greece. Partners followed up on the implementation of the 20 concrete actions that PAMEx encompasses. In addition to governance matters and the functioning of the Local Investment Finance Facility (PLIFF) – the innovative financial mechanism created to underpin the implementation of PAMEx – the Steering Committee meeting reviewed ongoing projects and seek ways to accelerate action for nature in the Mediterranean…
Four takeaways from gender-sensitive assessments of climate change risks in the Mediterranean
Two gender-sensitive assessments of climate change risks conducted in Kotor Bay in Montenegro and the Tangier-Tetouan-Al-Hoceima region in Morocco shed light on how gender inequalities exacerbate vulnerabilities in the Mediterranean context. Undertaken by Plan Bleu, the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre specializing in sustainable development, the assessments are part of the implementation of the GEF-UNEP MedProgramme Child Project (CP) 2.1: “Mediterranean Coastal Zones: Water Security, Climate Resilience and Habitat Protection”…
Tackling mercury pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Q&A with the MedProgramme
On 14-16 March 2023 representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Montenegro and Tunisia – participating countries in the GEF-UNEP MedProgramme – met in Sarajevo with the institutions supporting implementation to review progress on two (out of eight) Child Projects (CP): CP 1.1 (“Reducing pollution from harmful chemicals and wastes in the Mediterranean hotspots and measuring progress to impacts”) and CP 4.1 (“Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Environment and Climate Regional Support Project Countries)”. Meeting participants also travel to the city of Tuzla, where they visited a former industrial site known as Chlor-Alkali Complex (HAK-1). The University of Tuzla is undertaking an important assessment of mercury pollution at HAK-1, with support from CP 1.1.
Medadapt Awards Special edition:
building and construction sector
A special edition of the Medadapt Awards has just been launched, on the theme of adaptation of the buildings and the construction sector. Candidates have until April 18, 2023 to submit their applications. The award ceremony will take place on May 11, 2023, during the MeetMED Week in Marrakech…
IEFCA Award presented at UNFCCC COP27
On the occasion of UNFCCC COP27, which took place from 6 to 18 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Tatjana Hema, UNEP/MAP coordinator, announced from the Mediterranean Pavilion the fourth edition of the IEFCA Environmentally Friendly City of Istanbul award. The IEFCA award stems from decision IG.22/19 of COP 19 of the Barcelona Convention, with the objective of recognising the efforts of local authorities in promoting sustainable development in Mediterranean coastal cities…
COP15 ends with landmark biodiversity agreement
The United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) ended in Montreal, Canada, on 19 December 2022 with a landmark agreement to guide global action on nature through to 2030. Representatives from 188 governments have been gathered in Montreal for the past two weeks for the important summit…
Three workstreams for a zero-waste clothing and textile sector in the Mediterranean
The first-ever International Day of Zero Waste was observed the last 30 March. (Hashtags: #BeatWastePollution & #ZeroWasteDay). This new observance was adopted on 14 December 2022 during a UN General Assembly resolution put forward by Turkey with 105 other countries. To mark this first edition, a story on the zero-waste agenda in the clothing and textile sector in the Mediterranean has been produced. This, of course, is one of several angles envisaged for the next editions. A work on solid waste and plastics could be next…
LIFE Programme
The LIFE programme 2021-2027 is managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), has a budget of €5.4 billion and is divided into four sub-programmes: Nature and biodiversity, Circular economy and quality of life, Climate change mitigation and adaptation, Clean energy transition
The LIFE Call for proposals 2023 will be published on the Funding & tender opportunities portal as of Mid-April. The calls for Clean energy transition are expected to be published as of Mid-May.
AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023
The AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 finds that, despite progress in policies and legislation around climate mitigation since the previous such report in 2014, it’s “likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century”. This is based on the expected levels of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere by 2030, based on all countries’ climate targets – known as nationally determined contributions or “NDCs” – announced as of October 2021…
