Countries of the Mediterranean area are well aware of the deep fragility of the climatic balance that allows the preservation of good living and human development conditions. Fighting climate change is indeed a top priority in the region.

The Moroccan city of Tangier hosted on July 18th and 19th, the 2nd Conference of Parties on climate change of the countries bordering the Mediterranean "Med COP 22". The conference, which took place midway between the 21th Conference of Parties on Climate Change (to discuss the implementation of the Paris Agreement adopted in December) and the COP 22 (which will be held in Marrakesh in November 2016). The Med COP 22 was organized by the Moroccan Region of Tanger -Tétouan- AlHoceima, and over 1000 State representatives, committed organizations, cities and regions, companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attended the opening conference. The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation gave three presentations and participated in several debates.

IUCN-Med highlighted the role of protected area as natural based solutions to deal with climate change and invasive species problems. It also presented the main results of the Mediterranean Experience of Ecotourism (MEET) project developed in collaboration with 8 partners in 20 protected areas across the Mediterranean sea. The climate change impacts on the marine environment was explained, showing that mitigation measures have to be integrated, covering all the sectors of activities in one policy.

The main objective of this Mediterranean gathering was to highlight the existing initiatives related to the climate action in the region and to formulate innovative ideas by associations of local, national and regional society networks. It also enabled the stakeholders to present their projects and inform about the development of these projects. Moreover, the dialogue encouraged and raised the awareness of the benefits and need of actions against climate change in the Mediterranean region.

This conference was an important milestone for all the Mediterranean countries and for the upcoming COP22 which will take place from November 7-18th, 2016 in Marrakesh.

For more information: Andres Alcantara

Photo credits: Ⓒ MedCop Climat - Tanger 2016