MEDITERRANEAN COAST DAY 2020

This year many regional institutions and partners as well as members of the public joined UNEP/MAP in marking the 2020 edition of Coast Day. 

Although the main ceremony initially planned in Malta could not take place on 25 September, a digital campaign highlighted the importance of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and, more broadly, of sustainable consumption and production in the region.

The digital campaign

 The campaign’s page offered visitors resources and communication assets ranging from a lexicon to a collection of facts and figures on the situation of the Mediterranean Coast, based on PAP/RAC’ work and the latest assessment reports produced by the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention System and our Partners. 

The campaign also featured messages from the UNEP/ MAP Coordinator Gaetano Leone and the Director of PAP/RAC Zeljka Skaricic , as well as a video message by the Ambassador for the Coast Oliviero Montanaro. 

The digital campaign was rolled out with a slogan—  “The Mediterranean needs you. If you put a seashell to your ear, you will hear it calling”— and with calls to action:

• Visit the Coast Day 2020 page and learn more about the pressing issues affecting the Mediterranean Sea and Coast.
• Translate and share information in your local network with the #CoastDay #Act4Med hashtags.
• Use the Coast Day logo, sew it into your reusable face mask or use it to brand an online discussion with your friends and colleagues.
• Download the UNEP/MAP SeaWatcher App (powered by INFO/RAC) on your mobile device and report marine litter you stumble upon on the Mediterranean coast.
• If you can ensure that social distancing rules are strictly met, organise a beach cleaning campaign and send us the photos.

The EU4OCEAN coalition notably marked Mediterranean Coast Day as part of a its efforts to pave the way for collective Ocean Literacy initiatives in the Mediterranean Sea. An online workshop that took place on 25 September was organised by ACTeon (France, on behalf of the consortium supporting the European Commission/DG MARE EU4Ocean coalition), the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat, PAP/RAC, Plan Bleu, the Mediterranean branch of the European Marine Science Educator Association (EMSEA) and the BlueMed initiative.

Events held across the region

Albania: Under the motto “Feel natural, think blue” in Durres, an awareness-raising event was organised in the framework of the GEF Adriatic Project by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the National Agency of Protected Areas of Albania. It was followed by a workshop and panel discussion at the Port of Durres on the theme of "Marine resources, the energy of Blue Tourism".

Algeria: In the Wilaya of Tipasa, Mediterranean Coast Day was celebrated in conjunction with the World Maritime Day. The association "Ecologica" from Skikda organised a beach cleaning event during which volunteers collected as much as 23 waste bags.     

Croatia: Literature and arts activities for elementary-school children were held. Children took part in creating a story about the noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis), which is severely attacked by parasites throughout the Mediterranean. The children were also invited to submit their stories and illustrations for a competition. More than 180 contributions were received from all over Croatia. Winners received their awards during a ceremony at the Split-Dalmatia County on the occasion of the World Children’s Day (20 November)—a day when we mark the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes the right to live in a clean and healthy environment. 

Cyprus: The AKTI Project and Research Centre, a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, in collaboration with the Department of Environment, celebrated the  Coast Day 2020 on 25 September through the #potavristou campaign. “potavristou” means “reach out” in the Cypriot dialect, but also conveys the idea of “giving a helping hand”. During September, AKTI, through its social media platforms and with the support of several public media outlets, encouraged the public to collect litter, take a photo, indicate the location and post on social media using the campaign hashtag.  In a  meeting with Dr. Xenia Loizidou, the Ambassador for the Coast 2019 and President of the AKTI, Dr. Costas Kadis, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, said that “Each of us and all together, we can contribute to the mitigation of marine litter problem if we make changes in our lifestyle. Less consumption of single-use plastic products and improvement in their management when they become a waste, can have significant impact on the improvement of marine environment. A healthy marine environment is both a right of all of us and a responsibility to the generations to come”.

Italy: MEDSEA (Mediterranean Sea and Coast Foundation), located in Cagliari, Sardinia, celebrated Mediterranean Coast Day with a virtual choral message for future generations. On 24 September a press conference was held at the Environment Regional Department in Cagliari for the presentation of the Maristanis project. From 25-29 September members of the public were invited to take part in a competition by sharing photos/videos featuring the coasts of Sardinia on Instagram and/or Twitter with the hashtag #CoastDayInSardinia. The winners are listed here. In addition, a live broadcast highlighted the the state of the coasts of Sardinia and the need for action to protect them. 

Malta: a video was produced by the Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning as part of a campaign on environmental measures for the sea. It has been posted on the website of the  Planning Authority. The video features an introduction by Michelle Borg, Planning Authority representative (and PAP/RAC National Focal Point),  a story by a fisher and sustainable practices in tourism. In his intervention, Dr Aaron Farrugia, the Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning, reminds the viewers that on Mediterranean Coast Day “it is important to remember that we need to continue working together to safeguard the coast to ensure that we leave behind a better coastal environment for future generations than the one we have inherited”. 

Montenegro:  The Public Enterprise “Morsko dobro”, in collaboration with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism and the Institute for Marine Biology of Kotor, prepared a poster on coral communities with a focus on the gold coral (Gerardia savaglia), a species protected by international and national regulations, the largest populations of which have been noted at 2 locations within the Boka Kotorska bay in Montenegro. Copies of the poster were distributed to relevant institutions, as well as elementary and secondary schools throughout Montenegro.

Morocco: the AGIR (Association for Integrated Resource Management) celebrated Mediterranean Coast Day in collaboration with PAP/RAC and the Faculty of Science and Technology Al Hoceima. On 25 September AGIR organised a webinar for the youth from the Association of the Friends of the Sea of Al Hoceima on threats facing the coast and the types of solutions and responses proposed for the youth to address those impacts. AGIR later organised another webinar on the implementation of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the marine area of the Al Hoceima National Park—a Marine Protected Area (MPA). On 27 September, a live Facebook broadcast by the Association took viewers on a boat trip to the MPA.

Slovenia: The “Mediterranean Coast and Macro-Regional Strategies Week” took place on 14-25 September. The programme included meetings, workshops and seminars.