UfM Secretary General participates at the IUCN World Conservation Congress

3 – 11 September 2021 – IUCN and France are organizing in Marseille the IUCN Nature World Congress, one of the main events dedicated to biodiversity. This Congress will give the opportunity to a high-level political mobilization on the fight against the loss of Biodiversity and promote the scientific debate on the state and the protection of Nature. The Congress will be open to the public and the civil society making it a key moment of exchanges on the questions of biodiversity.

France will take the opportunity to organise on the first day of the Congress, a high-level segment dedicated to the conservation of the Mediterranean Sea. This High-Level segment will be focused on the launching of The Mediterranean: a model sea by 2030. Ministers from Morocco, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Algeria, Egypt, as well as the UfM Secretary General will participate. The initiative was launched at the One Planet Summit on January 2021. Since then, the discussions have set up an Action plan with twenty actions in support of biodiversity, structured around 4 axes which will be presented at the High-level Segment.

1. Increase ambition for preserving marine and coastal biodiversity in the Mediterranean

2. Promote and develop sustainable fishing to end overfishing by 2030

3. Redouble efforts to combat marine pollution, particularly so that no plastic is discharged into the Mediterranean by 2030

4. Promote maritime transport practices which protect the marine environment and combat climate change

Friday the 3rd of September at 2.00 pm (Paris Time), Parc Chanot Hall 8, the UfM Secretary General will take the floor on the 3rd axis (Redouble efforts to combat marine pollution), as the UfM commits to the conservation of the Mediterranean Sea through its overall actions with the UfM GreenerMed Agenda.

Agenda of the event in EN, FR.

During the IUCN World congress, the UfM will contribute to various events on “Setting the Mediterranean Context”, “Plastic Pollution” and WestMED, together with strategic partners.

MedECC, an open and independent international scientific expert network, supported by Plan Bleu and the Union for the Mediterranean, will during this event present the key results on the impacts of climate and environmental changes on the Mediterranean terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems through 2 different open sessions:

• 4^th September 09:30 – 10:30 High time to act for our Mediterranean – Session 1: Where are we now?
• 5^th September 14:30 – 15:15 Mediterranean climate and environmental change: the scientific world raises the alarm!