For the 10th consecutive year, the Mediterranean celebrated Coast Day with activities coordinated by UN Environment - this year under the theme ‘A blue economy for a healthy Mediterranean’.

‘Blue Economy’ is marine-based economic development that leads to improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. Decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation can take place in the fisheries, tourism, renewable energy, marine transport, recycling, and waste reduction sectors.

The 2016 edition of Mediterranean Coast Day was held on 27 September in Barcelona and included a discussion with this year’s ambassador for the coast, Spanish skipper Didac Costa, who will take part in the Vendée Globe sailing race.

During the day, participants also debated the concept of Blue Economy in the Mediterranean and discussed good examples and best practices from leading businesses, NGOs and public agencies from all over the Mediterranean.

"Since 2007, Coast Day has been a way for the entire Mediterranean network to share ideas about the coastal zone development and protection, but also about our collaboration and friendship,” said Gaetano Leone, the UN Environment/Mediterranean Action Plan Coordinator, welcoming participants in a video message.

Mr Leone also encouraged countries to help ensure ratification of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Protocol adopted in 2008, which would see countries develop policies to prevent natural hazards, apply an ecosystems-based approach to coastal planning and produce environmental impact assessments for projects, among other moves.

The second part of the day attracted more than a hundred people and featured three different corners – an action corner, with local and international NGOs, research centres and businesses; a networking corner gathering participants from blue economy sectors such as recycling and tourism, and a creative corner where participants could draw, build and take away a personalised art piece.

Mediterranean Coast Day was launched in 2007 to increase environmental awareness among policy makers, academia, media, NGOs and citizens of the importance of good coast management for achieving sustainable development in the Mediterranean region.

This year’s edition was co-organised by the Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre, Plan Bleu, and the Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production. It was co-sponsored by the MAVA foundation, an environmental philanthropic organization from Switzerland, and involved the participation of eco-union, a Barcelona-based NGO active in the field of green and blue economy.

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

Governments have pledged to further mitigate threats to small whales and dolphins from bycatch, chemicals and underwater munitions – with the potential for global impact.

Resolutions were adopted by countries at the 8th Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS), which took place in Helsinki from 30 August to 1 September 2016.

The resolutions address urgent and emerging pressures on whales, dolphins and porpoises. Topics discussed included bycatch, ocean energy, anthropogenic noise, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (known as PCBs) and underwater munitions.

As their impacts are not limited to marine mammals in the ASCOBANS region, the decisions adopted are a step towards a safer marine environment globally.

Bycatch remains the single largest threat to marine animals worldwide. A resolution adopted in Helsinki addresses this issue in the northern and western European regions, aiming to reducing mortality as far as possible towards zero.

Meanwhile, underwater munitions - a legacy of the two world wars - also represent a serious threat to marine species. Despite their age, submerged bombs can still explode and some contain highly toxic substances. The development of alternative methods of removal aside from detonation will alleviate the threat of injury of animals from such controlled explosions.

While discussions at the event stressed the cumulative human impact on cetaceans, governments received recommendations on how to effectively manage such stressors. Collection of ocean energy, for example, affects migratory marine species. New technologies, such as wave or tidal energy devices, can also injure the animals through collisions. Countries agreed on the importance of careful planning of new installations and the need for Environmental Impact Assessments.

ASCOBANS was concluded under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, administered by UN Environment. The Convention facilitates international cooperation between Range States through which migratory animals pass. It serves as a global platform for countries to conserve and sustainably use migratory animals across their range.

For more information please write to veronika.lenarz@cms.int

Italy's Ministry of Environment and Protection of Land and Sea has committed €4.5 million euro in new funds for the protection of the sea through UN Environment's Mediterranean Action Plan.

The sum will be used to fund better safeguarding of protected areas in the Mediterranean, tackling the critical issue of marine litter, improving environmentally friendly management of coastal zones and boosting socio-economic development that benefit people and marine ecosystems (blue growth).

“This is an initiative undertaken to strengthen the collaboration and cooperation between our country and the Barcelona Convention, following the signature of the Livorno Charter,” said Silvia Velo, Italian Under-Secretary of State for Environment. In the first phase of implementation of the agreement, priority will be given to actions for the management of marine litter and the promotion of governance tools of blue growth, she explained.

“The cooperation agreement that we signed today confirms once again the extraordinary commitment of Italy for the protection of the marine and coastal environment of the Mediterranean,” added Gaetano Leone, Coordinator of UN Environment's Mediterranean Action Plan and of the Secretariat to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean. “The priorities that we have developed together will produce concrete actions that have a great impact.”

The three-year agreement, will assist in achieving important objectives of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, such as the protection and sustainable use of the seas, oceans, marine resources and marine protected areas, by virtue of the purposes identified in the agreement.

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

A workshop has been held to help ensure the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) takes effect for countries situated along the Adriatic Flyway.

The Flyway is an important migration corridor running along the East coast of the Adriatic Sea for waterbirds migrating between Eastern Europe and North and sub-Saharan Africa. Twice a year, large numbers of waterbirds use the route to migrate between their breeding and wintering grounds.

Participants from eight states, including government representatives from Albania, Croatia and Slovenia attended the event, which was held from 13 to 15 September in the Croatian city of Samobor. Particular attention was given to involving civil society and NGOs from each country.

The workshop sessions took various forms, including discussions, group work and field trips. Participants practiced developing national AEWA implementation plans and simulated negotiating a draft resolution at a Meeting of the Parties.

A field trip to a Croatian energy station gave participants the opportunity to observe and experience practical conservation interventions. Participants also visited the Crna Mlaka fish pond - a site covered by the Ramsar Convention on wetlands- where they learned about management of the nature reserve and the co-existence of fish farming and waterbird conservation.

AEWA is administered by UN Environment and is the largest regional instrument of its kind concluded under the Convention on Migratory Species. The Agreement provides a framework for international cooperation on the conservation and management of migratory waterbird populations across the African-Eurasian Flyway. AEWA has set an example for flyway-based cooperation around the world.

For more information please write to veronika.lenarz@cms.int