Livestream on: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89675403741
Due to the diverse human pressures, the Mediterranean Sea considered as the most intensely affected marine areas in the world. Marine litter (particularly plastics, with an estimated 230,000 tons of land-sourced plastic leaking into the sea per year) is quickly becoming one of the main pollution sources of the Mediterranean Sea, with negative consequences for living marine organisms, marine ecosystems, human health and coastal activities, including tourism and fisheries. Moreover, COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation as the use of single-use plastics (SUP) such as gloves and masks has increased, threatening to stall and even reverse the progress achieved with regard to SUP which account for up to 50% of beach litter. Therefore, its effective management requires relevant instrument of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) that should be embedded into local development planning.
This event will look at successful examples applied the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) principles to the challenge of marine litter, by addressing the entire management cycle of marine litter – from monitoring and assessment to prevention and mitigation. The ultimate goal of such examples is to facilitate the efforts of decision makers and stakeholders in effectively dealing with marine litter towards good environmental status in the Mediterranean.
Discussions will provide an overview of scalable and replicable solutions at technical, regulatory and cultural level to promote a healthier Mediterranean with marine and coastal ecosystems that are productive and biologically diverse for the benefit of present and future generations.
The event is organized by Interreg NEXT MED Programme (formerly known as ENI CBC Med Programme), the largest transnational initiative implemented on the European Union’s external borders.
Moderator: Vincent Ernoux, Coordinator, Interreg NEXT MED Programme Branch Office for the Western Mediterranean
12.30 – 12.35 Introduction by the moderator
12:35 – 12:45 The Mediterranean GreenerMed Agenda 2030 – Adriana Salazar Blue Economy Expert, Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat; Water, Environment, and Blue Economy Division
12:45 – 12:55 Introduction, objectives State-of-Art; Mediterranean Pollution; Major challenges to efficient Integrated Coastal Zone Management on both sides of the Mediterranean – Esmat El Karadsheh, Coordinator, Interreg NEXT MED Programme Branch Office for the Western Mediterranean
12:55 – 13:10 Fighting Mediterranean Litter in the Mediterranean, the ENI CBC MED Project Plastic Busters CAP – Cristina Fossi, Full Professor of Ecology and Ecotoxicology at the University of Siena
13.10 – 13.20 What is being done in the rest of Arab countries to clean the seas from plastics – Ghada Ahmadein, Arab Network for Environment and Development
13.20 – 13.35 Other solutions and approaches for efficient ICZM to protect the Mediterranean: spotlight on results of ENI CBC Med funded projects
· ENI CBC MED Co-Evolve4BG project, Nahid Msayleb, Researcher, University of Lebanon
· ENI CBC MED MED4EBM project,
13.35 – 13.45 Interreg NEXT MED Programme: funding opportunities related to the protection of the Mediterranean Sea and coasts, Alejandro Lafarga, Programme Manager, Interreg NEXT MED Programme Branch Office for the Western Mediterranean
13.45 – 13.50 Conclusions by the moderator
