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President of the Bureau of the Contracting Parties, Your Excellency Sergio Costa, Minister of Environment of Italy, Excellencies, Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director Of UNEP, Distinguished delegates, Heads of MAP Components, Representatives of media, Colleagues,

H.E. Mr. Sergio Costa, Minister of Environment, Land and Sea of Italy Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a pleasure to speak to you all today, and to open this important meeting – here in this impressive setting, among so many respected colleagues, and in this historic city on the Mediterranean coast.

The Mayor of the Municipality of Ashdod (Israel), Mr. Yechiel Lasry, received the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award from Ms. Maria Carmela Giarratano, President of the Bureau of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols, during an official ceremony that took place on 2 December 2019 -- the first day of COP21 -- in Naples, Italy.

Ministers and senior officials representing 21 Mediterranean States and the European Union will attend COP21, which will see negotiations on a set of decisions pertaining to marine litter, the blue economy, biodiversity and marine protected areas, and climate change. Representing only 1% of the world’s ocean surface, the Mediterranean hosts up to 18% of the world’s known marine species and features one of the highest concentrations of marine litter mostly composed of plastics: more than100,000 microplastic items/km2, and up to 64 million particles/km2 of floating litter.

UNEP/MAP is participating in the Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Expert Group on Marine Litter and Microplastics (Bangkok, Thailand, 18-22 November 2019). Established in response to a resolution of the United Nations Environment Assembly on Marine Litter and Microplastics (UNEP/EA.3/Res.7), the Group includes experts with the relevant technical expertise from UNEP member States and representatives of international and regional conventions and organizations and relevant stakeholders.

Media advisory and call for applications for media accreditation Deadline: 25 november 2019 What: The 21st Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) Core themes: Biodiversity and Marine Protected Areas; marine litter, blue economy; climate change.

Athens, 13 November 2019 –The Mediterranean coastal city of Ashdod (Israel) is the winner of the second edition of the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award. The Jury – which is composed of the Members of the Bureau of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and of the President of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development – reached this decision following a thorough review of applications received from six Mediterranean cities.

Deputy Coordinator Tatjana Hema represented UNEP/MAP in the 7th Meeting of the Parties to ACCOBAMS – the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area –, which was held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 5-8 November 2019. The Meeting of the Parties to ACCOBAMS reviewed progress in the implementation of the agreement since the last MOP held in Monaco in 2016.

In September 2019, UNEP/MAP organized training workshops in Algeria and Lebanon to support the implementation of the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast (IMAP) and of the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management, in both countries.

UNEP/MAP—Barcelona Convention Secretariat convened a regional consultation on the themes of COP21, the 21st Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (COP21). The consultation meeting took place on 24-25 October 2019 in Athens, Greece, and saw the participation of more than 20 representatives of several civil society and intergovernmental organizations working in the Mediterranean region.

The H2020 Review and Monitoring Group met in Athens, Greece, on 23-24 September 2019 in the context of the Shared Environmental Information Systems (SEIS) II South project, funded by the EU’s European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI).

As the Coordinator of UNEP/MAP, the Lead United Nations Agency in Greece, Mr. Gaetano Leone took part in the United Nations Day observance ceremony hosted by the Authorities of the Region of Attica at the Parthenon and Syntagma Square in Athens. Following the flag-raising ceremony in the Parthenon, H.E. Mr. Antonis H. Diamataris, Deputy Minister, Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. George Patoulis, Regional Governor of Attica also delivered speeches at Syntagma Square.

The inaugural meeting of the national competent authorities for the development of the Sub-regional Marine Oil Pollution Contingency Plan between Cyprus, Egypt and Greece took place on 9-10 October 2019 in Piraeus, a seaside suburb of Athens that hosts one of the main ports in Greece. REMPEC organized the meeting, which marked the launch of a process that would culminate in the adoption of the sub-regional contingency plan by the three countries in 2020.

The UNEP/MAP–Barcelona Convention Secretariat Coordinator Gaetano Leone took part in the Marine Regions Forum on 30 September-2 October 2019 in Berlin, Germany. The Coordinator also participated in the 21st Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans organized by UNEP on 3-5 October 2019 that also took place in the German capital.

The UNEP/MAP– Barcelona Convention Secretariat signed on 9 October 2019 a Letter of Agreement (LoA) with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that provides a new framework of cooperation on issues pertaining to the dumping of wastes. The signing ceremony took place in the context of the 41st Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Convention and the 14th Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Protocol (London, UK, 7-11 October 2019).

The 2019 edition of the Coast Day celebration was held in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, on 25 September 2019. The Priority Actions Programme/Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC) organized the event in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of Cyprus.

Representatives of Mediterranean States and the European Union discussed new measures aimed at curbing pollution, protecting biodiversity and stimulating blue growth in the Mediterranean region. Decisions examined by the Focal Points of UNEP/MAP are crucial to the achievement of Good Environmental Status in the Mediterranean. The 21st Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (COP21 Barcelona Convention) will consid

UNEP/MAP is pleased to inform you that the deadline for the submission of applications for the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award has been extended until 18 September 2019. We encourage a broad participation from Mediterranean coastal cities and towns. Funded by the Government of Turkey, the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award was created in the framework of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) to recognize efforts of local authorities in promoting sustainable development in Mediterranean coastal cities. Eligibility

LAST CALL FOR APPLICATION FROM MEDITERRANEAN COASTAL CITIES UNEP/MAP is pleased to inform you that the deadline for the submission of applications for the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award has been extended until 18 September 2019. We encourage a broad participation from Mediterranean coastal cities and towns.

The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is the United Nations central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The theme of this year’s HLPF was “empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality” with a special emphasis on six out of the 17 Goals, namely SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 10 (Reducing Inequalities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), and SDG 17 (Partnerships).

The Sustainable Development Goals Report (2019), which was launched on 9 July 2019 in New York within the framework of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), provides insights into the progress made so far in the implementation of the 17 Goals that the UN Member States, including the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, resolved to achieve by 2030.

LAST CALL FOR APPLICATION FROM MEDITERRANEAN COASTAL CITIES UNEP/MAP is pleased to inform you that the deadline for the submission of applications for the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award has been extended until 18 September 2019. We encourage a broad participation from Mediterranean coastal cities and towns.

At the invitation of the Government of Montenegro, the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) convened in Budva, Montenegro, on 11-13 June 2019 to review progress in the implementation of the Mediterranean Strategy on Sustainable Development.

The OFOG Sub-Group on Environmental Impact held its second meeting in Athens, Greece, on 27-28 June 2019 with support from the Italian Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection. OFOG -- Offshore Oil and Gas Group – is an ad hoc working group coordinated by REMPEC and established in 2012 with a view to facilitating the effective implementation of the Offshore Protocol of the Barcelona Convention.

The meeting hosted by Turkey reviewed and acknowledged progress achieved in the implementation of the MAP Programme of Work (PoW) on land-based sea pollution. Focal Points reviewed the status of implementation of 10 regional plans - adopted since 2009 under Article 15 of the LBS Protocol under the Barcelona Convention - and made recommendations to further strengthen the regulatory framework of the MAP-Barcelona Convention system with a view to preventing and reducing marine pollution from land-based sources.