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Antalya, 10 December 2021— The Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) and its Protocols concluded their 22nd meeting (COP 22, Antalya, Turkey, 7-10 December 2021) today with a package of action-oriented decisions to protect the Mediterranean marine and coastal environment and bolster sustainable development.
H.E. Mr. Murat Kurum, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of the Republic of Turkey and Ms. Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, attended COP 22.
On 9 December, H.E. Ms. Emine Erdogan, the First Lady of Turkey, voiced her keen interest in the environment as she attended a roundtable entitled “Women Leadership on Environmental Matters in the Mediterranean Region” organized during COP 22, and took part in the ceremony during which the Spanish city of Málaga received the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award, an initiative under the Mediterranean Strategy of Sustainable Development.
Speaking at the opening of the Ministerial Session on 9 December, Minister Kurum underscored the need for broader cooperation to address the serious challenges that the Mediterranean—a meeting point and cradle of remarkable civilizations throughout human history— faces.
Addressing participants in the Ministerial Session, Ms. Msuya stated that “never before has the Mediterranean needed its human stewards as much as it does today". She commended the commitment of the Contracting Parties, noting that she heard « encouraging messages consistent with our calls to make peace with nature as part of a green recovery in the Mediterranean and beyond ».
Branded the “COP for the Mediterranean”, COP 22 delivered a substantial contribution to regional efforts aimed at a green recovery in the Mediterranean. It adopted a groundbreaking decision on the Designation of the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, as an Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides (MED SOx ECA) pursuant to MARPOL Annex VI. The measure is expected to generate significant benefits for human health and for the integrity of ecosystems, which both suffer from harmful SOx emissions from the maritime transport sector, one of the pillars of the blue economy in the Mediterranean.
On biodiversity, COP 22 adopted the Post-2020 Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Mediterranean Region (Post-2020 SAPBIO), which is aligned with the building blocks of the Global Biodiversity Framework to be finalized next year under the UNCBD. This achievement was complemented with agreement on a Post-2020 Regional Strategy for protecting and conserving the Mediterranean through well connected and effective systems of marine and coastal protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and with Action Plans for the conservation of species and habitats under the Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean.
Responding to calls to invest in a more sustainable and resilient future, the Contracting Parties took concrete steps towards a post-pandemic green recovery by agreeing on new action-oriented measures introduced by UNEP/MAP, including:
- Regional Plans on Urban Wastewater Treatment and Sewage Sludge Management in the Framework of Article 15 of the Land Based Sources Protocol;
- The Mediterranean Strategy for the Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships (2022-2031);
- The Ballast Water Management Strategy for the Mediterranean Sea (2022-2027);
- A set of Regional Measures to Support the Development of Green and Circular Businesses and to Strengthen the Demand for more Sustainable Products;
- Amendments to Annexes I, II and IV to the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol);
- Amendments to the Annex to the Protocol for the Prevention and Elimination of Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft or Incineration at Sea (Dumping Protocol);
- Amendments to the Annexes to the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution Resulting from Exploration and Exploitation of the Continental Shelf and the Seabed and its Subsoil (Offshore Protocol);
- Amendments to the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean in the Framework of Article 15 of the Land Based Sources Protocol.
In addition, the Contracting Parties gave the green light to the Medium-Term Strategy (MTS - 2022-2027) of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP). The UNEP/MAP Coordinator Tatjana Hema welcomed the adoption of the MTS, describing it as “a blueprint for a UNEP/MAP-led effective response to the triple crisis of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss coupled with an endeavor to promote a green recovery in the Mediterranean region”.
COP 22 marked the 45th anniversary of the Barcelona Convention, a unique regional treaty dedicated to the marine and coastal environment and sustainable development that UNEP/MAP delivered in 1976. UNEP/MAP continues to be the main framework for cooperation on the protection of the marine and coastal environment and sustainable development in the Mediterranean.
The Mediterranean basin is reeling under the combined impacts of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change. According to recent assessment studies on environment and development endorsed by the Contracting Parties, including the First Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR 1) by the network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC), the basin is on a collision course with nature.
Adopted on 9 December, the Antalya Declaration calls for a “Blue Mediterranean: leaving a pollution-free legacy, protecting biodiversity and sustaining climate sustainability”. The declaration constitutes a strong expression of political support to the collective endeavor within the framework of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system to achieve a healthy Mediterranean Sea and coast in the context of sustainable development.
NOTES TO EDITORS
- For more information on UNEP/MAP: https://www.unep.org/unepmap/who-we-are
- COP 22 Antalya: https://www.unep.org/unepmap/events/meeting/COP22-Barcelona-Convention-Mediterranean
- IISD/Earth Negotiations Bulletin’s coverage of COP 22 (including photos, videos and daily summaries): https://enb.iisd.org/Barcelona-Convention-COP22
- [Press release]: COP 22 secures consensus on curbing emissions of Sulphur Oxides from ships in the Mediterranean
- [Article - SPA/RAC website]: COP 22 adopts measures for biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources in the Mediterranean
