On 16 February 2021 Plan Bleu, a Regional activity Centre of UNEP/MAP, and the Tunisian Ministry of Local Affairs and Environment co-organized an online conference on the State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean (SoED) report and how its findings can feed into plans for sustainable development in Tunisia.
With the support of the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Center for Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity (SPA /RAC), the conference supported by ADEME (France) highlighted the findings of SoED to stakeholders and practitioners involved in environmental management and development planning, including civil society.
According to SoED, rising inequality, biodiversity loss, the growing impact of climate change and unrelenting pressure on natural resources can lead to irreversible environmental damage in the Mediterranean basin. The region is not on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unless urgent and resolute action is taken to halt current trends, environmental degradation could have serious and lasting consequences for human health and livelihoods in the region.
With only one decade remaining for the implementation of the SDGs, the COVID-19 epidemic has compounded the challenges that the country must overcome to fulfill the promise that the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development represents to the Tunisian population of 11.69 million, a quarter of which are under fifteen years of age.
The online conference provided an opportunity to discuss the SoED report’s findings and key messages as part of a broader reflection on how Tunisia can recover in a more sustainable and resilient manner from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her statement on behalf of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat, Deputy Coordinator Tatjana Hema underscored the importance of SoED as a major contribution to the Science-Policy Interface in the Mediterranean region and applauded the level of uptake displayed by Tunisian partners.
“The links established during this conference between the key messages of SoED and the ongoing reflection on a national strategy for sustainable development in Tunisia constitute an experience to be shared with all the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention,” Ms. Hema said.
The discussion focused on territorial governance, the challenges of decentralization, development planning at the local level and integrated approaches to sustainable development as well as the management of cross-cutting issues such as climate change and loss of biodiversity.
The contribution of the private sector and the meaningful participation of young people and women in planning for sustainable development as part of inclusive approaches—one of the key recommendations of SoED— were also addressed during the conference.
By embarking on national policies that invest in sustainability and resilience, decision-makers in Tunisia and other Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention can put the region back on track to achieving the SDGs as part of a regional green renaissance.
