Report on the State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean

Plan Bleu and UNEP/MAP have started the preparation of the 2019 Report on the State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean (SoED 2019).

The report will present a comprehensive and updated assessment of the status and main sustainability issues related to environment and development in the Mediterranean region.

Programmed to be produced as a key output during the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) programme of work 2018-2019, it will be aligned with the work conducted by the UNEP/MAP under its Mid-Term Strategy 2016-2021 and will be the result of a collective effort of all MAP components and other partners, with Plan Bleu supporting its organization and coordination.

By applying an integrated and holistic approach, the SoED 2019 will aim at:

• (Increasing awareness and understanding of environmental and development status and trends in the Mediterranean, their driving factors and impacts;
• Providing a foundation for improved decision-making at all levels, from the individual to national governments and international organizations, NGO’s, civil society, businesses or academics;
• Facilitating the measurement of progress towards sustainable development;
• and Enhancing the delivery of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development 2016-2025 (MSDD).

The SoED 2019 will synthesize disparate data into meaningful and relevant information, and communicate the results to decision-makers. Throughout its different chapters, the SoED 2019 will address the following main questions: What are the state, the evolution and the trends of the environment and development in the Mediterranean region? What are their driving forces and root causes? What are the current and required policy and societal responses to the situation? The SoED 2019 will identify priority areas for action, based on available scientific data and reliable information.

The last comprehensive Mediterranean State of the Environment and Development report, coordinated by Plan Bleu, has been published in 2009 by UNEP/MAP, following the foresight works of 1989 and 2005 and the UNEP/MAP “State of the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment”. SoED 2019 will be prepared in consistency with previous works and other relevant MAP initiatives (Quality Status Report, ECAP, MED 2050…), while incorporating new developments.

Since then, many changes have occurred regarding the status of the environment and development and linked policies. This is the case for instance for climate change which is starting to show its effects and for the shocks and turmoil that have struck the region in recent years, or the transition towards green/blue economy. These changes call for a new assessment.

Preliminary consultations with partners emphasized the importance of:

• Following a systemic and integrated analysis;
• Keeping the marine environment and the land-sea interface as a guiding principle;
• Incorporating as much as possible a multiscale approach, highlighting geographic differences, while maintaining a readable and easily accessible structure for the Report;
• Specifically focussing on “responses” (either political, regulatory, economic, technical…) to address the identified issues while following the DPSIR (Driving factors-Pressures- State-Impacts-Responses) approach;

The report will draw upon all available sources of information: UN system data and other existing data, state of knowledge, research, reports, projects, national reports and data bases… It will depend on involvement of many technical partnerships.

The SoED will also be a major step required to prepare the new Mediterranean foresight exercise on sustainable development “Med 2050” which Plan Bleu has started to prepare and for which a dedicated web page will soon be available.

Tentative timeline for the SoED 2019: