12 packages ready for the Mediterranean Experience of Ecotourism catalogue

Twelve ecotourism packages are ready to be part of the Mediterranean Experience of Ecotourism (MEET) catalogue according to the evaluation of an experts meeting held in Malaga at the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation premises on 8-9 July, to discuss ecotourism principles and minimum criteria for inclusion of packages in the final MEET Catalogue. Eighteen protected areas in 6 countries will be the first ones to be tested by selected outbound tour operators (especially from North America, Canada, Australia and UK) in a round of familiarization trips that will be organised next September to November.

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IUCN North Africa Regional Conservation Forum, 4-6 October 2015, Cairo (Egypt)

Participate to the MEET Network Photo Contest!

Core support to the activities of the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation is provided by the
Junta de Andalucia, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment and AECID in Spain, and the MAVA Foundation.

IUCN and EFE set to hold the first environmental journalism forum of Mediterranean press agencies

The two institutions formalize their first cooperation agreement, with the purpose of improving the quality of environmental information in the Mediterranean. Within the framework of the partnership between the Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN-Med) and EFE Agency, the two organizations took the initiative to prepare a meeting of environmental journalists from press agencies in the Mediterranean region.

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IUCN invites scuba diving clubs to collaborate in the monitoring and identification of invasive species

The MedMis programme focuses on the control of invasive species in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas. This programme provides its volunteers users with a website, a mobile application, and can be followed on social networks using the hashtags #invasivespecies and #MedMIS. The Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN-Med) launched this summer, a campaign to promote the involvement of scuba diving clubs (...)

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Mediterranean joining forces to address biodiversity information challenges

Nine environmental international organisations across the Mediterranean gathered on 2 July in Malaga to discuss how to give shape to an initiative that seeks cooperation in the field of data and information biodiversity in the region. This was the second meeting of this think-tank made up of institutions such as ACCOBAMS, Tour du Valat/Mediterranean Wetland Observatory, UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan /Plan Blue (...)

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Spain renews support to IUCN in the Mediterranean

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) together with the Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID) and the Andalusian regional government (CMAOT) in Spain have renewed their commitment to support the activities of the Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN-Med).

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IUCN welcomes six new members in the Mediterranean region

The IUCN Council has just validated the decision taken by its Bureau, on 13 May and 29 June 2015, to approve the admission of 15 and 16 new Members, respectively. Six of them belong to the Mediterranean region and are: the Operation Big Blue Association (Lebanon), the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (Portugal), the National Federation of Hunters (France), the Association for the Development of Rural Capacities (Lebanon), the Italian Zoological Union (Italy) and the Action for Wildlife (Spain).

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MEET Project Catalogue discussion at Expo Milano 2015 in Italy

The MEET Project partners from Italy, Spain, Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia had the opportunity to share their thoughts in a conference entitled ‘Eco-Tourism supporting ecosystems resilience: the successful experience of MEET Project', which took place at a universal exhibition Expo Milano 2015, Italy on June 12th, to present and discuss various components of the Mediterranean Experience of Ecotourism (MEET) Project Catalogue.

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Malaga encourages citizen’s commitment on the World Environment Day

The city joined this worldwide environmental awareness event encouraging citizens to change their consumption behavior and make them more aware of their impact on the environment. Malaga joined World Day of the Environment encouraging citizens to change their habits consumption and to improve the care for the environment.

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UNEP, FAO and ACCOBAMS join efforts on protection of marine areas in the Mediterranean

An important joint meeting between three main regional organizations, the UNEP-Mediterranean Action Plan (represented the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas - RAC/SPA), the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean of FAO (GFCM) and the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), was held in Tunis (Tunisia) on 9-12 June 2015.

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In memoriam: Fernando Molina, Mar Cano, Matteo Fussili and Jean-Paul Taris

IUCN is deeply saddened by the loss of several collaborators, friends and supporters of the IUCN-Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation and extend our condolences to their family, colleagues and friends.

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Events

IUCN North Africa Conservation Forum, 4-6 October 2015, Cairo (Egypt)
Egypt will be hosting the upcoming IUCN North Africa Conservation Forum, which will be held in Cairo from 4 to 6 October 2015. The event will be organized jointly by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation and the Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE), an NGO IUCN member in Egypt.

Mediterranean Deep Sea Ecosystems Meeting, 9 - 10 September 2015, Marseilles (France)
This first meeting will be an occasion for participant organizations to assess the information currently available on deep sea environments and to discuss collaboration opportunities and possible measures that can be taken to gather and obtain additional data to better manage these vulnerable ecosystems.

Marine Protected Areas managers in the Mediterranean will gather in Sinis Marine Protected Area, 24-26 November 2015, Sardinia (Italy)
The Mediterranean Protected Areas Network (MedPAN) Regional Experience Sharing Workshop will be hosted by the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Penisola del Sinis - Isola di Mal di Ventre (Sardinia, Italy) from 24 to 26 November 2015 and will explore the topic of sustainable tourism in Mediterranean MPAs.

2015 IUCN Regional Conservation Forum for Europe, North & Central Asia, 14-16 December, Helsinki (Finland)
Every four years, the IUCN Regional Conservation Forum for Europe, North & Central Asia (RCF) is held as a unique platform for IUCN Members to exchange, influence and network at regional level by identifying the actions and forging the synergies needed for change to happen.

7th Forest Europe Ministerial Conference, 20-21 October 2015, Madrid (Spain)

COP 21 - The United Nations Climate Change Conference, 30 November - 11 December 2015, Paris (France)

Events

In the press