MED NEWS 02/2021
Editorial
By Tatjana Hema, Coordinator of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat
Continuity, enhanced integration and renewed commitment
On 1 July 2021 I assumed my duties of Coordinator of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), taking over from Gaetano Leone, who recently retired after seven years of outstanding service at the helm of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat.
As many of you know, I am not new to MAP. I have worked in the Secretariat for several years and in various positions. I see in my latest appointment by the UNEP Executive Director an expression of appreciation for the work that the entire MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat, including the Regional Activity Centres (RACs), has competently delivered. I also see a clear message on the importance of continuity. As I embark on this new professional journey, I am determined to draw upon the leadership of the Contracting Parties and build on what UNEP/MAP has achieved with a view to addressing the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution that the Mediterranean is grappling with.
The goal is to divert current trajectories towards more sustainable and resilient paths. The new UNEP/MAP Medium-Term Strategy 2022-2027, to be examined for adoption this December at the 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties (COP 22) in Antalya, Turkey, will guide our collective efforts to achieve this crucial mission in line with UNEP’s mandate and within the framework of the global agenda and the commitment that it has generated.
I am fully aware of the complex nature of the issues in hand. Luckily, we have a robust platform for a stronger collective effort. UNEP/MAP has delivered a vast body of assessments, and devised strategies, action plans and concrete measures to help Contracting Parties accelerate the transition to sustainability across a wide thematic spectrum: from Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP)—as the linchpin of circular economies—to curbing marine pollution and expanding the protection of marine and coastal species to achieve Good Environmental Status. The vision is clear, but the journey ahead is challenging.
Fostering political commitment is essential to the transformational changes needed in all sectors. This will be among the priorities that I will be pursuing in my new role. Implementation and enforcement of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols, breaking the silos through greater integration at all levels, and effective collaboration and outreach are critical to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Mediterranean region.
I will strive for a nimble, efficient and forward-looking UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system that responds adequately to existing and emerging challenges in the Mediterranean and serves the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols at the highest standards.
I am confident that COP 22—the first meeting of the Contracting Parties to take place after the global pandemic rose on the Mediterranean horizon—will serve as a new push for effective multilateralism and coordinated action among Mediterranean countries and the European Union.
Gender equality and enhancing the way we listen to and work with youth in the Mediterranean will also receive adequate attention. As we step up efforts to spur a post-COVID green renaissance in the Mediterranean, we must and will do more to ensure that no one is left behind in the delivery of the UNEP/MAP Programme of Work and the projects that we implement with our partners.
MULTIPLE RED FLAG
Two reports supported by the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention System provided new insights on the extent of impact from the pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss, observed in the Mediterranean.
Indeed, the State of the Environment and Development (SoED) report, produced by Plan Bleu, a UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre based in France, revealed that the Mediterranean is not on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and warns that biodiversity loss, the growing impact of climate change and unrelenting pressure on ecosystems from economic sectors can lead to irreversible environmental damage in the basin, while the first Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR 1) produced by MedECC, an independent science network that the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system supports, highlighted on “Climate and Environmental Change – Current Situation and Risks for the Future”, pointing in this way on very important impacts affecting both natural and socio-economic systems in a basin that is warming 20 per cent faster than the global average. 
Both reports have raised multiple red flags on biodiversity in the Mediterranean, in particular the rapid extinction of Posidonia oceanica meadows, a Mediterranean-endemic marine vegetation species, that is one of the most eloquent symptoms of the unfolding crisis of biodiversity loss in the basin. Indeed, according to the IPCC, around 70 per cent of habitat loss of Posidonia oceanica is projected by 2050 with a potential for functional extinction by 2100.
The set of information provided by the both Reports confirms the urgent necessity of green renaissance in the Mediterranean, which would recognize and address the root causes of this triple crisis due to pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change.
The recovery from the pandemic implies a mobilization of resources and investment decisions at all levels but also offers the opportunity of a compliant implementation to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols. This would enable a much-needed acceleration of biodiversity conservation efforts, especially under the Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity (SPA/BD) Protocol.
THE MEDITERRANEAN BLUEPRINT
The Mediterranean countries already have a blueprint for biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean. Indeed, under the Barcelona Convention, the Contracting Parties have signed up to a substantial development of the normative framework on biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean. In addition to the SPA/BD Protocol, the Contractiong Parties have adopted more than twenty strategies, action plans and regulatory measures—several of which are legally binding—covering threatened species of fauna and flora as well as key natural habitats.
These legal above-indicated instrument have been developed by SPA/RAC, the Regional Activity Centre of UNEP/MAP working on biodiversity and specially protected areas and aligne with global commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), constituting a ready-made blueprint in order to mending the dysfunctional relationship between humans and nature in the Mediterranean region.
An important element of the regional conservation blueprint devised under the Barcelona Convention for the Mediterranean, namely the post-2020 Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of the Biological Diversity and sustainable use of natural resources in the Mediterranean Region (post-2020 SAPBIO), will be examined during this year by the Contracting Parties at their COP 22, scheduled in December in Antalya, Turkey. The post-2020 SAPBIO draft recommend nature-based solutions as tools to improve the health of ecosystems and promote sustainability in key sectors of Mediterranean economies, including aquaculture. Once adopted, the post-2020 SAPBIO should give priority to the planning of urgent actions at the regional and national levels for the sustainable management of Mediterranean biodiversity until 2030.
UNDERSTAND TO PROTECT
It is essential to have a good understanding of the nature before developing strategies, action plans and other conservation measures. Collecting data on marine and coastal ecosystems and processes, in an integrated methodical manner and according to harmonized standards, is a prerequisite to achieve and maintain a Good Environmental Status.
Since the adoption of the Ecosystem Approach (EcAp) roadmap in 2008, several initiatives have been undertaken to mainstream the implementation of the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme (IMAP) in the Mediterranean. This has led to significant progress in decision-making regarding biodiversity conservation . IMAP-MPA and EcAp MED III, two EU-funded projects implemented by UNEP/MAP and two of its Components, namely SPA/RAC and MED POL, are bolstering action in this field. 
Another project, denominated GEF Adriatic, have been implemented by UNEP/MAP, two of its Regional Activity Centres (PAP/RAC and SPA/RAC) and the national Institutions from Albania and Montenegro. This project was instrumental in the development of national Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programmes in the two countries. The first integrated assessments in selected areas led to a better understanding of marine and coastal ecosystems and to propose appropriate conservation measures.
Surveys in Boka Kotorska Bay (Montenegro), conducted by PAP/RAC, SPA/RAC, the Institute of Marine Biology with the public enterprise Morsko Dobro, the National Agency for Nature and Environment Protection and the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, have provided the basis upon which the protection of the Sopot and Drazin Vrt sites was initiated. These sites host a rare species of coral that, with a lifespan of 2,700 years, is among the oldest living organisms on the planet.
NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR MARINE AND COASTAL PROTECTED AREAS (MCPAs)
Last year, Plan Bleu, the France-based Regional Activity Centre of UNEP/MAP, published a policy paper titled “Enhancing the Mediterranean’s climate resilience through Nature-based Solutions”. This document explores the differents ways to exploit nature-based solutions, like the services and resources provided by ecosystems and biodiversity, to enhance climate resilience.
Nature-based solutions are at the heart of many of the instruments developed under the Barcelona Convention. It is the case of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MCPAs) that offer a respite to the nature because humans let it do what it does best: self-healing.
MCPAs offer nature-based Solutions to support climate change adaptation and mitigation. By preserving marine biodiversity, MCPAs strengthen the resilience of marine ecosystems to global warming and other stressors. For instance, MPCAs play a very important role in protecting Posidonia oceanica meadows, which constitute an important carbon sink and buffer against sea acidification.
Under the SPA/BD Protocol, the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention have established a growing network of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs). There are currently 39 areas included in the SPAMI List from a total of 1,126 Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MCPAs) covering 209,303 km2. This coverage amounts to approximately 8.3 percent of the Mediterranean Sea area, with strictly protected areas representing a paltry 0.06 per cent.
Additional efforts are sorely needed to improve the management of MCPAs so as to meet the Aichi target 11 and the forthcoming 2030 target under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This goal is enshrined in the post-2020 Regional Strategy for Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MCPAs) and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), prepared by SPA/RAC and will be examined alongside the post-2020 SAPBIO by the Contracting Parties at COP 22.