1st EVER MEDITERRANEAN "COAST DAY" LAUNCHED
October 24th 2007

PRESS RELEASE    PRESS RELEASE ARABIC

Coast Day is a unique event in the Mediterranean. It aims to raise awareness of policy makers and the public of the value of the coast, as well as of applying an integrated approach to planning and management of the coastal zone.

Coast Day is a celebration of life on the coast. It is a day dedicated to the protection of natural coastal environment and its interaction with human culture and socio-economic activities. This day is dedicated to celebration of the beauty of the coasts: the coast as a home to half of the world's population and as a vacation destination to most of the tourists; the coast as a source of inspiration, creation and as an important stake for the well-known "coastal life style". Finally, Coast Day is dedicated to the vision of the future coasts we want. The intention is that Coast Day spreads into other countries and that lives on in the years to come.

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2008-03-28Mediterranean Workshop on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Policy

PAP/RAC of UNEP/MAP in collaboration with the Sardinia Conservatory and Environment Department is organising a Mediterranean Workshop on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Policy. The workshop will be held in Alghero, Sardinia (Italy), on 19-21 May 2008. It is expected that the high-level representatives from the ICZM-related ministries (Tourism, Spatial Planning, Economy, Development, Public Works or similar) will be attending the Workshop. In addition, representatives of the NGOs Coast Day partners and representatives of the several SMAP III ICZM projects will be participating at the Workshop.

The workshop will be held under the auspices of the PAP/RAC appointed Ambassadors for the Coast. The attendance of four Ambassadors for the Coast is expected, namely:
- Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa of Morocco,
- Mr. Renato Soru, President of the Sardinia Region,
- Mr. Chérif Rahmani, Minister of Environment of Algeria, and
- Mr. Mostafa K. Tolba, Former Executive Director of UNEP.
On the occasion of this Workshop, Mr. Tolba will be officially appointed Ambassador for the Coast.
Finally, it is expected that the participants will adopt the "Sardinia Declaration".
Mediterranean Workshop on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Policy

 

2008-01-25ICZM Protocol signed in Madrid!!!

At the Conference of the Plenipotentiaries on the ICZM Protocol that took place on 20-21 January 2008 in Madrid, the ICZM Protocol was signed. Under the presidency of the Minister of Environment of Spain, H.E. Ms. Cristina Narbona Ruiz, fourteen Contracting Parties of the Barcelona Convention signed the Protocol. These are the following: Algeria, Croatia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syria and Tunisia. All other Parties announced to do so in the very near future.

This is the 7th Protocol in the framework of the Barcelona Convention, and the decision to approve the draft text and recommendation to the Conference of the Plenipotentiaries to sign it was taken at the 15th Ordinary Meting of the Contracting Parties during their meeting in Almeria, on 15-18 January 2008. All the parties are convinced that this Protocol is a crucial milestone in the history of MAP. It will allow the countries to better manage their coastal zones, as well as to deal with the emerging coastal environmental challenges, such as the climate change.

The ICZM Protocol is a unique legal instrument in the entire international community and the Mediterranean countries are proud of this fact. They are willing to share these experiences with other coastal countries of the world. The signing of the Protocol came after six years of dedicated work of all the Parties. The work was intensified in the last biennium following the decision of the 14 th Contracting Parties meeting in Portoroz, in November 2005, to establish the governments' designated Working Group of Experts. Now, all the Parties are urged to ratify the Protocol so that it enters into force as soon as possible.

 
 
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