WEBINAR ORIENTATIONS & PERSPECTIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN TUNISIA

On February 16th, Plan Bleu organized in collaboration with the Tunisian Ministry of Local Affairs and Environment (DGDD), with the support of the Regional Activity Center for Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity (SPA/RAC), a conference on conclusions and recommendations of the State Report on the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean and their application in the Tunisian context. Tunisia is now facing several challenges of sustainable development in relation to the orientations recommended by the new Constitution of 2014: decentralization, integrated approaches to development, as well as citizenship and public participation in decision making.

Faced with major challenges, Tunisia now finds itself obliged to radically change its strategies. Policies mobilizing many actors and stakeholders are thus integrated into spatial planning that responds to local needs. More than 130 people registered for this conference where representatives of the Tunisian Ministry of Local Affairs and the Environment spoke alongside representatives of Plan Bleu, UNEP/Mediterranean Action Plan and other organizations. Three lines of thought were proposed to participants in the light of the SoED recommendations:
• territorial governance of sustainable development at the national, regional and local levels and the challenges of decentralization and sustainable development planning at the local level;

• integrated approaches for sustainable development in Tunisia, key sectors and the management of cross-cutting issues such as climate change and loss of biodiversity;
• involvement of the public and stakeholders, especially young people and women, in planning for sustainable development.