The Moroccan city of Tangier hosted on 18 and 19 July, the 2nd Conference of Parties of the countries bordering the Mediterranean on climate change, "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 COP 22 (Marrakech, November 2016). It was organized by the Moroccan Region Tanger -Tétouan. – Hoceima. And over 1000 representatives of States, of committed organizations, cities and regions, companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attended the opening conference. The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation had an active role, making three presentations and participating 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 benefit and need of actions against climate change in the Mediterranean region.

This conference was an important milestone for the Mediterranean countries and for the upcoming COP22 which will take place from 7 to 18 November 2016 in Marrakech.

Further more information: Andres ALCANTARA