The Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) was established in 1975 as a coherent legal and institutional framework for cooperation through which all Mediterranean countries decided to jointly ad- dress common challenges of environmental degradation while linking sustainable resource management with development. It was soon followed by the Barcelona Convention and seven Pro- tocols addressing issues relevant to the conservation and sus- tainable use of marine and coastal resources as well as to many policies and measures aiming to improve its management.
Information is key to the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention which is first and foremost a governance framework. It acts as a catalyst facilitating cooperation and decision-making in the Mediterranean region. As it is well-known, availability and acces- sibility to relevant information is a precondition for sound policy- making and good governance.
Actions towards generating information on a more systematic basis followed the first Rio Conference 20 years ago. The Medi- terranean countries decided to strengthen their reporting of information on environmental trends, a necessary feedback to improve the effectiveness of measures undertaken. In 2008 the Contracting parties to the Convention went one step further mandating the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention to prepare pe- riodic State of the Environment reports.
This State of the Mediterranean Environment report sets a new course while building on our previous thematic reports. It pro- vides information on the overall nature of the Mediterranean ecosystems and defines recurrent and new pressures – such as aquaculture and desalination – that affect the state of its envi- ronment. It also assesses the availability and quality of informa- tion and identifies knowledge gaps so as to provide guidance for scientific research and monitoring efforts undertaken by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention. Lastly, an im- portant insight on vital services provided by marine and coastal ecosystems to their inhabitants is offered.
For the first time, the report is organised around the 11 Ecologi- cal Objectives agreed by the Contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention as a common strategy for the application of the Eco- system Approach to the management of human activities. Bio- diversity conservation, coastal dynamics, fisheries management, pollution reduction, marine litter and hydrography are now agreed and presented as part of an integrated analytical and im- plementation framework which will be periodically monitored and reviewed through a rigorous six year cycle.
By doing so, this report initiates the post Rio+20 in the UNEP/ MAP-Barcelona Convention. It launches a process that address- es two main lessons outlined in the Fifth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-5) of UNEP launched at the Rio+20 Summit on Sustainable Development earlier this year. Namely, that interna- tional agreements are most successful when they tackle goals with specific targets on a reduced number of priority issues; and, that evidence-based policy-making requires more reliable data. Indeed, a striking finding from the report is the significant infor- mation gaps that still exist.
The knowledge and management agenda ahead of us is huge. I am confident, however, that over time we will be able to fulfill our ambition of building the body of knowledge and manage- ment necessary for understanding and more effectively ad- dressing cumulative risks and effects. A necessity if we are to reach the good environmental status of our battered sea and coastal ecosystems.
The report is a collaborative effort comprising UNEP/MAP-Bar- celona Convention components, parties and partners. Its main source of information is the Initial Integrated Assessment on the Ecosystems Approach which was peer-reviewed by GESAMP. The report was compiled by GRID/ARENDAL and independently re- viewed by experts on a pro bono basis. The Secretariat is grateful to all contributors to this report and looks forward to feedback and comments that could further enrich future reports.
Maria Luisa Silva Mejias Executive Secretary and Coordinator, UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention