About MedProgramme

The Mediterranean Sea Programme (MedProgramme): “Enhancing Environmental Security” is a six (6) year (2020–2025) Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded multi-focal area initiative, with an overall GEF grants of USD 43,376,147. The grants come from four GEF Focal Areas, namely: International Waters (IW) - USD 25,500,000, Chemical and Waste (CW) – USD 15,500,000, Biodiversity (BD) USD 1,376,1473 and Special Climate Change Funds (SCCF) - USD 1,000,000. The MedProgramme will generate USD 861,666,654 of co-financing (USD 248,936,654 in kind, USD 2,730,000 cash and USD 610,000,000 hard loans. The programme is implemented in Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Montenegro, Morocco, Tunisia, and Türkiye. 

UNEP/MAP is the leading executing Agency; the GEF Implementing Agencies are UNEP and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the executing partners are UNESCO/IHP, European Investment Bank (EIB), IUCN Med, GWP Med, WWF Med, Plan Bleu, PAP/RAC, SCP/RAC, and SPA/RAC. The MedProgramme operationalizes priority actions to reduce major transboundary environmental stresses in coastal areas while strengthening climate resilience and water security and improving the health and livelihoods of coastal populations. It also aims to promote sound environmental management that benefits women and men equally, through effective gender mainstreaming.

The MedProgramme is working to achieve large-scale impacts in four GEF focal areas: International Waters (IW), Chemicals and Waste (CW), Biodiversity (BD), and Climate Change Adaptation (SCCF), with contributions from numerous partners including UN agencies, development banks, MAP Regional Activity Centers, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Regional Centers, national institutions, technical agencies and research institutes, NGOs, and others, under the leadership of UNEP/MAP.

Image

The current environmental situation of the Mediterranean Sea shows signs of progressive deterioration which is a result of a range of human activities coupled with tourism activities. Densely and increasingly populated coastal regions, generate high pressure on the quality and security of supply of critical resources such as water, food, and energy in addition to increasing pollution. These have a huge impact on vulnerable coastal and marine ecosystems and habitats leading to the loss and degradation of coastal and shallow marine ecosystems and the scarcity of coastal freshwater resources. This is compounded by the increasing negative impacts of climate variability and change, mostly felt by the most vulnerable and poor populations. The MedProgramme is a response to addressing these threats.

The implementation of the MedProgramme involves a wide spectrum of partners ranging from banking institutions, the private sector, governmental and non-governmental bodies, industry, research, and various other organizations. The programme builds on earlier initiatives such as the MedPartnership, ClimVar and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) GEF projects which have enriched the knowledge and understanding of the Mediterranean environment. 

There are eight (8) Child Projects of the MedProgramme are expected to deliver a set of complementary results embracing three categories of priorities identified by the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) for the Mediterranean Sea and these are translated into four (4) components.

1. Reduction of Land-Based Pollution in Priority Coastal Hotspots and measuring progress to impacts.

2. Enhancing Sustainability and Climate Resilience in the Coastal Zone.

3. Protecting Marine Biodiversity.

4. Knowledge Management and Programme Coordination.

Expected results include, but are not limited to:

• The disposal of 2000 tons of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and of fifty (50) tons of Mercury per year for Child Project 1.1, an increase in volumes of water treatments, and improvements in coastal and water management.

• Reduction and prevention of 1,250 tons of POPs for Child Project 1.3.

• The development of an updated Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA), including gender assessment.

• The development of an Offshore monitoring strategy and identification of 20 locations for the offshore monitoring stations.

• Investment to upgrading Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) and reusing of treated wastewater, and/or depollution of catchment area in Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia.

• Development of common environmental standards on desalination, aquaculture, wastewater, and sludge management.

• Enhancement of Coastal Zone Sustainability in beneficiary countries through the expanded compliance with the ICZM Protocol and the adoption of national ICZM strategies, coastal plans and instruments, and improved gender equality.
• Increase resilience to climatic variability and change and enhance water security of coastal populations through improved sustainability of services provided by coastal aquifers and by groundwater related coastal habitats.
• Fostering water-food – energy security and the reduction of land based nutrient pollution and other pressures, through the adoption of the water-food- energy ecosystems Nexus approach.

• The expansion of seascapes under protection and improving protected marine area management in Libya.

• Innovative and cross-cutting knowledge management and gender mainstreaming strategies that will provide a pilot for further integration into the operations of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system.