Journalists working in the domain of the environment in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia met in Rabat on the 29 amd 30 June 2012 to discuss and analyze their training needs and networking in the region.

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) organized last April in Dubai a Sub-regional workshop for West Asia and North Africa on capacity building for the implementation of the Programme of work on Protected Areas.

The IUCN Spanish National Committee and the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation organized, on 7 June in Madrid, a joint meeting with the Spanish Association of Environmental Journalists (APIA) to discuss major aspects of the next IUCN World Conservation Congress, 6 -15 September 2012 in Jeju (Republic of Korea). A cooperation agreement between IUCN-Med and the Spanish National Committee was signed on this occasion.

The kick-off meeting for the project on "Development and implementation of species action plans in Mediterranean countries: improving capacity management for conservation of endangered species in North Africa" took place on 12 June in Algiers (Algeria).

The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) agreed in May to sign a cooperation agreement to support joint efforts for biodiversity conservation in North Africa.

Malaga celebrated the World Environmental Day, 5 June, with a programme of activities to raise awareness among children and youth on the need to protect our environment. The initiative was promoted by the City Council of Malaga, IUCN Member, in collaboration with the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation and the UNESCO Chair in Communication at the University of Malaga.

May and June have been months of intensive raising awareness activities as part of the LIFE+ European programme for the conservation of Posidonia oceanica in Andalusia in which the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN-Med), as a project partner, plays an important role.

As part of a project led by IUCN-Med and funded by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID), a 2nd field visit took place in Tunisia during the last week of March for the establishment of an eco-tourism plan in two pilot protected areas in North Africa (Morocco and Tunisia).

LIFE+ 2012 

The sixth LIFE+ call for proposals was published in the Official Journal (2012/C 74/08) on 13 March 2012. The deadline for applicants to submit proposals to Member State authorities is 26/09/2012.