The United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) and the European Environment Agency (EEA) have agreed on a joint work plan for 2016-2021, further strengthening a decade-long partnership.

The plan aims to contribute towards creating a solid knowledge base and awareness among policy makers, civil society and the general public about the state of the marine and coastal environment in the Mediterranean and its sustainable development.

Meeting in the margins of UNEA-2, UNEP/MAP Coordinator Gaetano Leone and EEA Executive Director Hans Bruyninckx reconfirmed their commitment to partnership and increasing the effectiveness of their work, illustrating synergies and complementarities.

“Building on the achievements of the 2006-2008 joint work plan, the present agreement aims to strengthen the science-policy interface in the Mediterranean region. It takes into consideration recent policy developments and shared achievements, and charts the path forward for the period 2016-2021,” Leone explained.

The plan also underlines the role of information delivery and dissemination in supporting the implementation of policies, in particular the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development 2016-2025, the UNEP/MAP Mid-Term Strategy 2016-2021, the joint work programme between the European Commission (EC) and UNEP/MAP, the Strategic Partnership between UNEP and the EC, the EU Enlargement Policy, the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU MSFD, and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Horizon 2020 Initiative.

Cooperation between EEA and UNEP/MAP has a long-standing history. Over the last ten years, both organisations have worked hand-in-hand on strengthening the knowledge base and raising public awareness on the marine and coastal environment in the Mediterranean region and its sustainable development.

For more information please write to hoda.elturk@unep.org