It is estimated that 40% of the Mediterranean’s forests are currently being degraded to some extent, due to increasing forest fires, overgrazing and destruction for agriculture and urban development 21st March marks International Forest Day, with this year’s focus on forest restoration as a path to recovery and well-being The Union for the Mediterranean is supporting a project for scaling up forest and landscape restoration in the area, particularly in Lebanon and Morocco 19st of March 2021. With International Forest Day approaching, we need to remind ourselves of the importance of forest ecosystems as a sanctuary for biodiversity, a way… read more
As a critical climate change hotspot, the Mediterranean region already has over 180 million people who are considered water poor. With the COVID-19 pandemic, water is more precious than ever before, being a vital element in the sustainable rebuilding of our region. The Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), the World Bank, the Mediterranean Youth for Water Network (MedYWat) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) are hosting a e-conference for World Water Day, focusing on “Valuing Water”. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) has prioritised leading the development of a regional Water Agenda and supported the ENI CBC MED programme… read more
Brussels, 2 February 2021 – Ministers from the 42 Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) countries have agreed to intensify their efforts towards a sustainable blue economy in the Mediterranean. Doing so, they want to promote the recovery of the region’s economies from the COVID-19 crisis, and address the environmental and climate challenges. Download report PDF Six years after the first Union for Mediterranean Ministerial Declaration on Blue Economy, Ministers adopted today a new declaration, firmly committing to cooperate closely and address joint challenges in key blue economy sectors. They agree to promote transformative policies and tools such as maritime clusters or… read more
FAO, CIHEAM and UfM join forces to boost progress on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda across the Mediterranean, in the framework of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. The MoU comes with a detailed work plan of concrete actions, to be jointly carried out between 2021 and 2024, that will span across several technical areas, such as sustainable management of land and water resources, sustainable fisheries, climate-smart and organic agriculture, food environments and healthy diets, sustainable value chain development, food loss and waste reduction. 14 January 2021. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Centre… read more
The UfM seeks to mobilize its member states, partners and public and private sector in support of the Action Plan for an Exemplary Mediterranean 2030 to achieve the protection target of 30% of the planet’s surface areas. 11 January 2021, Paris. The fourth One Planet Summit brought together Heads of State and Government and decision-makers to speed up international action for nature. The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, joined the event and reiterated UfM’s commitment to the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, to continue to collaborate actively to the concretization of the Action Plan for Exemplary Mediterranean by 2030. The primary goal of the One planet… read more
Member states of Union for the Mediterranean agreed to advance solutions to meet water-related socioeconomic challenges, promoting climate resilience, while assisting women and youth towards job creation during the Joint Water-Employment-Migration (WEM) and Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Task Forces Meeting of the UfM Water Agenda. 23 July 2020. The UfM Task Forces on Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus and Water-Employment-Migration (WEM) held a joint online meeting on 23 July 2020, which constituted the 4th meeting of the WEFE Task Force, and the 5th meeting of the WEM Task force. The purpose of combining the two TFs’ meetings was to jointly identify priorities of the… read more
Part of a wider UfM supported Plastic Busters Initiative spanning across the whole Mediterranean basin, Plastic Busters MPAs is an Interreg Med project aiming at maintaining biodiversity and preserving natural ecosystems in pelagic and coastal marine protected areas. Marine litter research expeditions have been carried out in the Pelagos Sanctuary (Italy), the Tuscan Archipelago National Park (Italy), the National Marine Park of Zakynthos (Greece) and the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park (Spain). 13 July 2020. Everyday life in the Mediterranean has been disrupted and changed over the last few months but the work that Plastic Busters MPAs carried out first at sea and then in the lab can… read more
The Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ángeles Moreno Bau, and the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel, met today to discuss the progress of the Desalination Facility for the Gaza Strip project, with the Palestinian Minister of Water, Mazen Ghunaim, in a virtual meeting. During the meeting, Spain unveils 1 Million euros of financing for the construction of a Desalination Facility for the Gaza Strip The desalination plant will supply drinking water to 2 million Palestinian inhabitants, thereby ensuring a sustainable solution for the chronic and longstanding water shortage and humanitarian crisis in… read more
The availability of freshwater in the Mediterranean region could decrease by 10% to 15% over the next 20 years while the population continues to grow. The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to re-examine regional priorities and practices and seize opportunities for progress in the UfM Water Agenda, a roadmap to meet the related Sustainable Development Goals. A UfM Water online meeting brought together high-level participants concerned by both the end of the confinement period and the related health risk, socio-economic consequences and many global uncertainties; and by the long-term vision of the water sector. 9-10 June 2020. The Mediterranean countries… read more
5 June 2020. Today marks World Environment Day, an important opportunity to raise awareness, engage people, and take action on the critical environmental challenges facing our planet. The Mediterranean region faces manifold environmental challenges, including wildfires, the destruction of ecosystems, and an unprecedented loss of biodiversity. The recent scientific report focused on the regional environmental impacts of climate change, a project supported by the UfM, further underlined the urgent need of action in this area as it confirmed the Mediterranean was warming 20% faster than the rest of the world. Tackling environmental challenges is therefore high on the agenda for the Union for… read more
