THE PLIGHT OF MEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEMS
On the occasion of the two World Days dedicated respectively to the Environment and Oceans, which took place on 5 and 8 June 2021 respectively, UNEP / MAP has drawn up several articles in order to mark these two events in the Mediterranean Region. The 2021 edition of World Environment Day has been marked by the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 – 2030 while the one of World Oceans Day has celebrated the theme “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods”. These two themes are intertwined, especially in the Mediterranean context, because ecosystem restoration, that have suffered degradation or destruction, and conservation of these latter are essentiel to preserving marine life and livelihoods.
http://www.info-rac.org/en/communication/newsletter/newsletter-archive/med-news-02-2021/the-plight-of-mediterranean-ecosystems
http://www.info-rac.org/en/communication/newsletter/newsletter-archive/med-news-02-2021/the-plight-of-mediterranean-ecosystems/@@download/image/WorldEnvOcean.PNG
THE PLIGHT OF MEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEMS
On the occasion of the two World Days dedicated respectively to the Environment and Oceans, which took place on 5 and 8 June 2021 respectively, UNEP / MAP has drawn up several articles in order to mark these two events in the Mediterranean Region. The 2021 edition of World Environment Day has been marked by the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 – 2030 while the one of World Oceans Day has celebrated the theme “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods”. These two themes are intertwined, especially in the Mediterranean context, because ecosystem restoration, that have suffered degradation or destruction, and conservation of these latter are essentiel to preserving marine life and livelihoods.
Two flagship reports supported by UNEP / MAP - Barcelona Convention System and released this year, the State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean (SoED) and the First Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR1), reveal that the Mediterranean is in collision with nature.
The ‘twin reports’ point out that the global triple crisis due to climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution has already caused a hefty toll on ecosystems with increasingly acute impacts on human wellbeing. Making peace with nature in the Mediterranean would entail addressing the root causes of the environmental crisis.
In the context of the recovery from COVID-19, evidence-based policies should invest in ecosystem restoration while paving the way for more sustainable and resilient economies that decouple development from ecosystem degradation. The UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat has labelled this ambitious but feasible outcome thanks to “green renaissance in the Mediterranean”.
