ICZM & MSP – a meter for Blue Economy

The 2nd meeting of the Blue Economy Working Group took place in Brussels on 8 November 2016, under the Jordanian and European Commission Co-Presidency, in close collaboration with the UfM Secretariat. That was an occasion for the participating country delegates and representatives of international organisations and fora to hear about the state of play and planning actions related to the implementation of the UfM Ministerial Declaration on the Blue Economy adopted in Brussels in November 2017. In particular, updates was presented on: the Virtual Knowledge Centre for the Mediterranean (VKC Med) handover to the UfM Secretariat; the maritime initiative on sustainable development of the blue economy in the western Mediterranean; and the maritime skill development initiatives.

Mr. Gaetano Leone, UNEP/MAP Coordinator, and Ms. Željka Škarièiæ, PAP/RAC Director, attended the Working Group in order to ensure synergy with the UNEP/MAP work. Recalling the legal framework provided by the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols, they informed the participants on the most recent achievements including the adoption of the MSSD and Regional Framework for Climate Change, the work on the Regional Framework for ICZM and MSP, and the approval of several important projects by UNEP/GEF and EU. The PAP/RAC Director also made a presentation on experiences in implementing the ICZM Protocol and the need to extend the work to the sea side by intensifying the consideration of land-sea interactions and ICZM-MSP complementarity.