MEPIELAN CENTRE participates in the 21st Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and its Protocols (Naples, Italy, 2-5 December 2019)
Together with Prof. José Ruiz Juste (Member of the CC), Mr. Sverio Civili (f. MED POL Coordinator) and Prof. Michel Prieur (f. Member of the CC)
COP 21, convened by the UNEP/MAP Secretariat, was attended by Ministers and senior officials representing all Contracting Parties – 21 Mediterranean States and the European Union. More than 300 registered participants, including civil society and intergovernmental organizations, took part in the negotiations. Youth representatives addressed the COP Ministerial Segment for the first time and representatives of the scientific community, civil society, local authorities and the private sector took part in a High-Level Panel and several side-events that made COP 21 an inclusive and fertile ground for forward-looking ideas, proposals and actions.
Fourteen thematic decisions related to pollution and marine litter, biodiversity and marine protected areas, blue economy and integrated coastal zone management were adopted by the Contracting Parties, including a groundbreaking roadmap for the proposal of a possible designation of the Mediterranean as an Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides. The Contracting Parties adopted the Naples Ministerial Declaration that “encapsulates an eloquent expression of political support to the UNEP/MAP—Barcelona Convention system’s role, achievements and plans in responding to the pressing environmental challenges facing the Mediterranean region” as stated by the UNEP/MAP Coordinator Mr. Gaetano Leone . COP 21 also marked the starting point of a new biennium that will focus on implementation and on the preparation of new strategic documents to guide our work in the future, including an action-oriented Medium-Term Strategy for the 2022-2027 period.
Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos, Director of MEPIELAN Centre, addressing the COP 21 Ministerial Policy Review Session, made a statement laying emphasis on the need for innovation to support transition towards better environmental and sustainability governance, more effective legal approaches oriented to trusteeship for addressing the current legal gaps, and better, structured ways for strengthening the culture and practice of consensus-building, dialogue and communication between and among all participants.
Together with the UNE/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat, namely Gaetano Leone, Coordinator, Tatjana Hema, Deputy-Coordinator, and Ilias Mavroidis,Programme Management Officer – Governance
By Decision IG.24/1, entitled “Compliance Committee”, adopted by the 21st Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (COP 21) (Naples, Italy, 2-5 December 2019), Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos was elected as a Member of the Compliance Committee of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols. The Compliance Committee consists of seven Members elected by the Meeting of the Contracting Parties from a list of candidates nominated by the Contracting Parties. “Nominated candidates are persons of recognized competence in the matters dealt with by the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols and in relevant scientific, technical, socio-economic, legal or other fields” and “the elected Members serve in their individual capacities and act objectively in the interests of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols” (Rules of Procedure of the Compliance Committee, s. II, 3.8.9.11). The Compliance Committee was established in 2008 by COP 15 (Almeria, Spain, 15-18 January 2008) and its objective is “to facilitate and promote compliance with the obligations under the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols, taking into account the specific situation of each Contracting Party, in particular those, which are developing countries” (Decision IG.17/2 “Procedures and Mechanisms on Compliance under the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols” as amended by COP Decisions IG.20/1 and 21/1.
