Press release - Stronger joint efforts needed to achieve cleaner Mediterranean

Achieving a cleaner Mediterranean Sea requires better implementation of policies and enhanced environmental data and information, according to a joint report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and United Nations Environment Programme’s Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP), published today. Cumulative effects of waste and marine litter, and wastewater and industrial emissions remain key challenges for the region.

Copenhagen/Athens, 21 September 2020 - joint EEA and UNEP/MAP report "Towards a cleaner Mediterranean Sea: a decade of progress" takes stock of the progress achieved and challenges ahead in the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Horizon 2020 initiative for a cleaner Mediterranean (H2020).

According to the report, the current interventions are effective in keeping up with increasing environmental pressures but their scale may not be enough to improve the environmental status of the Mediterranean. This main message is consistent with the findings of the ‘State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean report’ that will soon be released by Plan Bleu, a Regional Activity Centre of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system. Read more