Background

The Mediterranean Region has long been identified as a climate change hotspot. Moreover, the Mediterranean countries’ capacity to respond to climate change related pressures is hampered by insufficient data and understanding of the possible impacts, absence of regional assessments of the socio-economic costs of climate change and lack of consensus on policy options and possible response measures. It is, therefore, critically important that we advance our understanding of how climate change will impact the coastal zone communities, natural resources and marine and coastal biodiversity of the Mediterranean.

The origins of the project can be traced back to the “Marrakesh Declaration” adopted by Ministers of Environment and Heads of Delegations during the 16th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (Marrakesh, November 2009), which concluded that adaptation to climate change in the marine coastal zone is a major priority for the Mediterranean region and that it requires regional guidance and coordination.

This project is also complementary to the overall GEF funded UNEP/MAP Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (the MedPartnership) project.