MEPIELAN Centre Proposed as a Member of the Mediterranean Commission On Sustainable Development (MCSD)
At the 16th Meeting of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD), held in Marrakesh, Morocco from 9 to 11 June 2015, the Steering Committee agreed that the new composition of the MCSD that will be proposed to the 19th Meeting of the Contacting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (19th MOP – 2016) will be composed as follows:
• 22 Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention
• Local Authorities (3):
- Local Agenda 21 Italy
- MEDCITIES
- UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments) Mediterranean Commission
• Socio-Economic Actors (3):
- RAED (Arab Network for Environment & Development)
- UMCE (Union of Mediterranean Confederations of Enterprises)
- ANIMA
• NGOs (3):
- WWF MedPO
- ENDA-Maghreb (Environnement, Développement et Action)
- MIO-ECSDE (Mediterranean Information Office – Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development)
• Scientific Institutions (3):
- FEMISE (Forum Euroméditerranéen des Instituts de Sciences Économiques)
- UN SDSN (United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network)
- MEPIELAN Centre (Mediterranean Programme for International Environmental Law and Negotiation)
• IGOs (3):
- CEDARE (Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe)
- IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature)
- UfMS (Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat)
The election of MEPIELAN Centre on the MSCD as one of the three members of the scientific institutions group is a major development for the operation of the Centre as a UNEP/MAP Partner.
MCSD is an organ of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) provided by Article 4(2) of the Barcelona Convention for the purpose of implementing the objectives of sustainable development in the framework of the Barcelona Convention system. Its institutional importance lies in the unique nature of its composition and in the legal power of its recommendations. MCSD is composed of 40 members: 22 Contracting Parties (permanent members) as well as 18 relational partners (rotating representatives from local authorities (3), NGOs (3), socio-economic stakeholders (3), scientific community (3), intergovernmental organizations (3) and eminent experts (3) selected, in principle, for two years by the Meetings of the Contracting Parties (MOPs) according to certain selection criteria) which participate on an equal footing and decide by consensus. According to Article 4(2) of the Barcelona Convention, the recommendations of the MCSD will be taken “fully into account” by the Contracting Parties. MCSD has provided major inputs to the formulation of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development.
|