The State of the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment

Finland

Estonia Latvia

Sweden

Denmark

Lithuania

Ireland

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Poland

Germany

Belgium Luxemburg

Czech Republic

Slovakia

Hungary

Slovenia

European Union

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Romania

France

Bulgaria

Italy

Croatia

Montenegro

Monaco

Portugal

Turkey

Spain

Albania

Syria

Greece

Cyprus

Malta

Morocco

Lebanon

Tunisia

Israel

Algeria

Egypt

Libya

ment to sustainable development and to the effective imple- mentation, at the regional and national levels, of the decisions of the Earth Summit and the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development. The MCSD allows synergies be- tween the MAP system and other institutions and civil society concerning sustainable development in the region. Two additional strategies assist the Contracting Parties in their task of implementing the Prevention and Emergency Protocol. The first one adopted in 2005, lists the priority is- sues to be addressed when implementing the Prevention and Emergency Protocol and include, for each of these issues, precise commitments and a timetable for the implementa- tion of the various specific set objectives. The Regional Strat- egy for Prevention of and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships contains twenty-one objectives to be achieved by 2015, as well as a set of implementation goals, a timetable for its implementation, and a list of relevant international conven- tions and European legislation. The second one was adopted in 2012 with the objective to establish the framework for a regional harmonised approach in the Mediterranean on ships’ ballast water control and management which is consistent with the requirements and standards of the2004 International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) as outlined in its Ar- ticle 13.3.

The Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention also adopted in 2005 the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD), which results from a consultation pro- cess that mobilised most Mediterranean stakeholders includ- ing governments, the civil society through the participation of NGOs and key experts. The purposes of the Strategy are to: contribute to economic development while building on Medi- terranean assets; reduce social disparities and fulfill MDGs while strengthening diversity; ensure sustainable manage- ment of natural resources and change consumption and pro- duction patterns; and improve governance at local, national and regional levels. The MSSD is built around the following seven interdependent priority fields of action on which progress is essential for the sus- tainable development of the Mediterranean: • better management of water resources and demand; • improved rational use of energy, increased renewable energy use and mitigation of and adaptation to climate change; • sustainable mobility through appropriate transport manage- ment; • sustainable tourism as a leading economic sector; • sustainable agriculture and rural development; • sustainable urban development; and • sustainable management of the sea, coastal areas and marine resources.

In order to use an integrated and holistic framework for the management of human activities in the Mediterranean the

The Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) assists the Contracting Parties to convey their commit-

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REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, MAJOR FINDINGS AND GAPS AND NEXT STEPS IN THE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH