The Regional Workshop “’The Mediterranean We Need for the Future We Want“ was convened 21-23 January 2020, in Venice (Italy) and hosted by the Italian Oceanographic Commission and co-organized with the IOC-UNESCO, the European Commission, the United Nations Environment/Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) and the Mediterranean Science Commission.
This Mediterranean workshop took place in the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030: six specific working groups aimed to identify concrete deliverables and partnerships to meet the Decade’s six societal objectives in the perspective of the Mediterranean Sea uniqueness:
- A clean ocean where sources of pollution are identified and removed
- A safe ocean where people are protected from ocean hazards
- A healthy and resilient ocean where marine ecosystems are mapped and protected
- A sustainably harvested and productive ocean ensuring the provision of food supply
- A predictable ocean where society has the capacity to understand current and future ocean conditions
- A transparent ocean with open access to data, information and technologies
In his statement, Gaetano Leone, UNEP/MAP – Barcelona Convention Secretariat Coordinator, underlined the importance of the MedECC. Elen Lemaitre-Curri, Plan Bleu’s director, MedECC Steering Committee Member, intervened in particular in the panel: “Cross-cutting issues: Capacity development and transfer of marine technology”. She shared some of Plan Bleu’s experiences and vision in supporting science policy and science policy practice interfaces in the Mediterranean, including the MedECC. Maria Snoussi the Coordinating Lead Author of the 1st Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR1) “Introduction” chapter and MedECC Steering Committee Member intervened in the panel “A healthy & resilient Mediterranean Sea”.