More than fifty Members and Observers were taking part in the 19th Meeting of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD), which went underway on 7 June 2021. The three-day meeting virtually hosted by Slovenia examined a report on sustainable development activities carried out from June 2019 – May 2021, and reviewed progress in the implementation of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development. A roundtable also took place on 8 June to discuss the “achievement of the SDGs and the transition towards a sustainable blue economy for a post-COVID green renaissance in the Mediterranean”.
The MCSD was established twenty-five years ago in line with Article 4 of the Barcelona Convention as an advisory body to the Contracting Parties to assist them in their efforts to integrate environmental issues in their socio-economic programmes and to promote sustainable development policies in the region and at national level.
Wolfgang Cramer (MedECC co-coordinator) presented the main results of the 1st Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR1) on 8 June 2021. The State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean (SoED) report of UNEP/MAP and Plan Bleu was presented in the same session.