Fostering co-operation for a marine litter-free Adriatic!

On 20 February 2018, H.E. Mr. Tomislav Ćorić, Croatian Minister of Environment and Energy, met with H.E. Mr. Blendi Klosi, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Albania and  H.E. Mr. Pavle Radulović,  Minister of Environment of the Republic of Montenegro. The meeting was held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The ministers discussed possible solutions of the problem of land-based marine litter, a global issue dramatically affecting marine and coastal environment. Having in mind the importance of a clean environment and sustainable tourism, representatives of the three countries, being signatories to the Barcelona Convention, stressed the need for the implementation of the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean, adopted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS), in order to reduce marine litter quantities in the Adriatic Sea. The ministers agreed that the long and fruitful cooperation of the three countries in the frame of the existing agreements and initiatives, such as the Joint commission for the protection of the Adriatic Sea waters and the coastal areas, the Adriatic Trilateral Initiative and the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian region, should be further strengthened with the aim of finding efficient solutions for the marine litter issue in the Adriatic Sea.