IUCN Congress
The IUCN World Conservation Congress held in Marseille, provided an important opportunity for the Mediterranean conservation community to exchange new solutions for addressing the main challenges of the region in terms of climate action and biodiversity conservation. Following the new political announcements and the launch of the Plan of Action for an Exemplary Mediterranean Sea by 2030 (PAMEX) by 8 Mediterranean governments and 5 NGO to preserve marine biodiversity through 19 operational actions, 12 partner organisations explored new joint mechanisms to kick-start nature-based recovery across the region.
The urgency to act to reverse the current trends in the region was confirmed by the findings of three different reports presented by the network of experts on climate change in the Mediterranean (MedECC), Plan Bleu (with SPA/RAC contribution on biodiversity topics) and Tour du Valat, namely the MedECC MAR1 – Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Report, the State of the Environment and Development Report, and the Living Mediterranean Report. In a region that is warming up 20% faster than the rest of the world, the dramatic effects of unsustainable development on terrestrial and marine ecosystems are indeed placing human livelihoods of current and future generations at risk.