SoED 2020 : State of Environment and Development in Mediterranean

The ADR is a State of the Environment and Development Report that provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of environmental and development interactions in the Mediterranean region. This year’s RED 2020 consists of eight thematic chapters and is complemented by two summary papers: Summary for Decision Makers and Key Messages. Topics covered include: socio-economic drivers and trends; Climate change Biodiversity and ecosystem services; Economic activities and related pressures; coastal dynamics and related impacts, food and water security, health and environment, and governance. At the request of the 21 countries bordering the Mediterranean and the European Union, the RED was prepared by the Blue Plan as part of the Mediterranean Action Plan (WFP) – Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and The Coast Mediterranean System Region. Mediterranean countries and stakeholders have demonstrated a need and interest for up-to-date information and analysis on the environment and development, including maps, graphs and data, and recent policies. On the Mediterranean region, no reports of this magnitude had been produced in the last decade. The aim of RED 2020 is to fill these gaps and increase awareness and understanding of the state and environmental trends in the Mediterranean, their driving forces and impacts, as well as to propose potential responses, while facilitating the measurement of progress towards sustainable development. RED also provides an up-to-date basis for improving the implementation of WFP’s 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Mediterranean Sustainable Development Strategy 2016-2025 (SMDD). Another objective of this report is to demonstrate the ability to monitor and analyze the state of the environment, the impact of human activities on the environment and the potential impact of environmental degradation on our well-being and activities.

The RED was built on other WFP reports, in particular the State of the Mediterranean Quality Report 2017 (QSR 2017), which deals with the quality state of the marine and coastal environment.

It will also fuel the MED 2050 prospective exercise. This report is the result of a great collective effort, led by the Blue Plan. All components of WFP and the UNEP/WFP Coordination Unit, as well as regional networks and partners, such as the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agricultural Studies, the Centre for Mediterranean Integration and the Mediterranean Expert Network on Climate and Environmental Change, have co-led the preparation of chapters or thematic sections. More than 150 technical and scientific partners co-wrote or revised the report. WFP’s national and thematic focal points and members of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (CMDD) were also consulted throughout the report preparation process. Data sources are consistent with international best practices. The report is based on several available sources of information, prioritizing data from the United Nations system. When not available in the United Nations system, the data come from other recognized international and regional organizations, such as the World Bank, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the European Environment Agency, etc. In addition to providing information to public and private decision-makers, the report also helps inform the general public. RED 2020 is the achievement of long-standing common goals between Mediterranean countries.