Inspiring Impact: Mediterranean Coast Day 2025 Celebrates Shared Action for Resilient Shores
Tunisia hosted the regional celebration of Mediterranean Coast Day 2025, the annual campaign led by the Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC) under the UNEP/MAP–Barcelona Convention system. This year’s event carried special meaning — marking 50 years of the Mediterranean Action Plan, 40 years of the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC), and 30 years of Tunisia’s Coastal Protection and Planning Agency (APAL).
Held under the theme “Inspiring Impact: Mediterranean Institutions for Coastal Resilience,” the gathering celebrated how institutions and communities work together to safeguard coastlines and livelihoods.
“Only by working together can we protect the Mediterranean for the generations to come,” said Tatjana Hema, Coordinator of UNEP/MAP. “Institutions are preparing with risk maps, nature-based solutions, and planning tools, but without citizen involvement, adaptation will not succeed.”
The Mediterranean’s coastline faces growing challenges — sea level rise, erosion, extreme weather, and pollution — affecting tourism, fisheries, and cultural heritage. In Tunisia, where the impacts of erosion are among the most visible in the region, APAL works with 96 municipalities from Bizerte to Djerba to protect and regenerate coastal areas. These efforts came alive on Coast Day through stories of dune restoration, sustainable fishing, and community-led adaptation.
“This exemplary mobilisation of institutions and partners pays tribute to the remarkable work of all who protect and restore coastal ecosystems,” noted Habib Abid, Tunisia’s Minister of Environment, in a message ahead of the event.For PAP/RAC, Coast Day has always been about people.
“It’s not just another date on the calendar — it’s a spark that turns awareness into action,” said Daria Povh Škugor, Director of PAP/RAC. “It gives a platform to those working in silence and builds bridges between science and storytelling, policies and the people most affected by them.”
The celebration also highlighted the GEF-funded Mediterranean Sea Programme (MedProgramme), co-implemented by UNEP and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Through the MedProgramme, countries are strengthening coastal resilience, advancing Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), and promoting nature-based solutions.
From Morocco to Lebanon, ICZM plans and source-to-sea strategies supported by the Programme are turning shared learning into tangible progress — proof that regional cooperation can deliver local impact.
Coast Day 2025 extended beyond the event hall. A regional digital campaign launched “Institutions in Action: Strengthening Coastal Resilience”, an interactive StoryMap developed by PAP/RAC that brings together examples of collaboration, innovation, and impact across the Mediterranean.
By connecting projects and people, Coast Day continues to remind Mediterranean citizens that resilience is not a single act, but a shared effort — built every day, on every stretch of shoreline.
For nearly five decades, PAP/RAC has promoted collaboration in coastal management — from the first Coastal Area Management Programme (CAMP) in Kaštela Bay in 1989, to national ICZM strategies in 21 countries, and the development of the ICZM Protocol to the Barcelona Convention. Its mission remains to connect people, policies, and the sea.
The Mediterranean Sea Programme (MedProgramme): Enhancing Environmental Security is a six-year (2020–2026) Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded initiative implemented in Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Montenegro, Morocco, Tunisia, and Türkiye. Led by UNEP/MAP with UNEP and EBRD as GEF Implementing Agencies, it brings together regional partners — including PAP/RAC, SPA/RAC, Plan Bleu, MedWaves, INFO/RAC, and others — to strengthen climate resilience, water security, and sustainable coastal livelihoods.
