Mediterranean Day of the United Nations Ocean Conference (June 10, 2025)
We, the Ministers of the Environment and heads of delegations of the Contracting Parties to the
Barcelona Convention, gathered today to reaffirm our common commitment to the protection and
preservation of our Mediterranean Sea, an invaluable common good, as a regional contribution to the
global efforts aiming at achieving SDG14.
We celebrate the 50 years of UNEP/MAP and the 30 years of Post Rio Barcelona Convention,
appreciating their pioneer work and achievements and, as Contracting Parties to the Convention,
commit to continue cooperating and act for the benefit of people and nature.
We welcome the third edition of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3), in Nice (France), as
a key milestone to accelerate and mobilize all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean and
reaffirm our will to effectively contribute to the success of this event. To this aim, we commit to
properly mainstream UNOC-3 relevant outcomes in our work, in particular with a view to the 24th
Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (COP24) to be held in Cairo (Egypt)
next 2-5 December 2025.
We thank the four Champion Countries as decided by COP23, namely Slovenia, France, Egypt and
Spain, and the hosts of UNOC-3, France and Costa Rica, for the organization of this major milestone in
the life of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention.
1. Alarmed by the consequences of the environmental planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity
loss, pollution and land degradation in the region, we are determined to continue supporting the
achievement and the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 14, which has strong interlinkages with many other SDGs
due to its cross-cutting nature, the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity
Framework. We affirm the need to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its
resources by implementing international law as reflected at the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS), which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and
their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want.
2. Noting with concern that due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, the rate of climate
change in the Mediterranean basin, both historical and projected, is faster than global trends and
deeply concerned that 2024 was the hottest year on record according to the World Meteorological
Organization, we reiterate our commitment to integrating climate mitigation, adaptation and
resilience measures into our policies, including maritime policies, compatible with a trajectory to limit
the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial level. We will support actions and initiatives to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the effects of climate change, promote decarbonization
especially of energy production through renewable energy sources as well asto promote nature-based
solutions and strengthen the resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems to the effects of climate
change, considering the local context and country determinations for development. We will integrate
them, as appropriate, in our nationally determined contributions to be submitted ahead of the 2025
UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP30).
3. We support the scientific assessment work conducted by the Mediterranean Network of Experts on
Climate Change and the Environment (MedECC) on the impact of climate change on the Mediterranean
basin, and call for the protection and the restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems, particularly by
advocating for a new approach based on the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus, and to intensify,
as appropriate, ocean-based mitigation measures.
4. We welcome progress towards implementing the integrated source-to-sea approach through
Integrated River Basin Management planning and enhanced interregional cooperation between the
Mediterranean, the Danube and Black Sea to improve the climate resilience of river basins and coasts
and enhance the health of coastal and marine ecosystems, taking into account the strong interlinkages
between SDG 14 and SDG 6.
5. We welcome activities for integrating Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and Integrated Coastal Zone
Management to enable sustainable management and planning to ensure the development of
sustainable and resilient blue economy as a vehicle for green transition, together with the application
of Strategic Environmental and Environmental Impact Assessments as important tools to integrate
environmental consideration in MSP plans, with the view to applying an ecosystem-based approach,
as agreed at COP 23 in Portorož.
6. Deeply concerned about the rapid deterioration of biodiversity worldwide, particularly in the
Mediterranean, at an unprecedented rate, we commit to strengthening and expanding the network of
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as well as establishing Other Effective Area Based Conservation
Measures (OECMs) in the Mediterranean Sea with the aim to protect 30% of the Mediterranean Sea
by 2030, ensuring effective conservation and sustainable management of the protected areas,
including OECMs, and their integration into national and regional policies, thus contributing to target
3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the UN Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), through the implementation of the Post-2020 SAP BIO for the marine and coastal
environment, adopted at COP 22 of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols.
7. We encourage Contracting Parties that have not yet done so to take action to ratify, approve, accept
or accede to the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on
Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
(BBNJ Agreement), as a contribution from the Mediterranean countries to its early entry into force.
8. We renew our commitment to take measures to ensure the protection of marine endangered
species in the Mediterranean and we will support the dissemination of best practices to combat,
control or manage non-indigenousspecies and the implementation of effective monitoring actions and
coordinated management measures based on the most relevant scientific data.
9. We reiterate our commitment to raise the level of ambition and implement targeted actions to
accelerate progress towards achieving Good Environmental Status and the SDGs, considering the very
important processes of revision and update of the Ecosystem Approach RoadMap and of the
Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD). These will take into account key findings
of the 2023 Mediterranean Quality Status Report and the fact that work shall continue to achieve and
maintain Good Environmental Status of the marine and coastal environment.
10. Aware of the ecological importance of marine and coastal ecosystems, we commit to intensifying
conservation and restoration efforts for these ecosystems, in particular the Posidonia seagrass
meadows inter alia, by supporting the Mediterranean Posidonia Network (MPN) and the related
Flagship Initiative under the MSSD. We affirm our willingness to promote sustainable management
practices and protection measures against anthropogenic pressures to preserve these critical abitats
for marine biodiversity.
11. We commit to decisive and collective action to ensure sustainable fisheries and to strengthen the
fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which poses a threat to the sustainable
exploitation of marine resources in the Mediterranean. We call for the reinforcement of the
international legal framework to fight IUU fishing activities, by ratifying the Food and Agriculture
Organization’s Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), the International Maritime Organization’s
(IMO) Cape Town agreement on fishing vessels safety, the International Labour Organization’s
convention on work conditions on fishing vessels and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO)
Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, as well as WTO negotiations on additional provisions on fisheries
subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.
12. We welcome the efforts and the collective work for the implementation of the Particularly Sensitive
Sea Area in the North Western Mediterranean Sea, a key tool for protecting marine mammals from
collision risks designated by the IMO, and commit to contribute to the effective application of its
associated protection measures.
13. We welcome the outcome of the 83rd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee
(MEPC) of the IMO aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, in line
with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy and recommend the formal adoption of the proposed amendments
to MARPOL Annex VI at the next MEPC extraordinary session to reach net-zero emissions from
international shipping by or around 2050 i.e. close to, 2050.
14. We welcome the entry into force of the Sulfur Emission Control Area (SECA) in the Mediterranean,
as decided by IMO MEPC.361 (79), as a crucial step in reducing air pollution from ships. We commit to
rigorously applying SECA regulations, including through the ratification of MARPOL Annex VI, and
promoting clean technologies for maritime transport to protect human health and the marine
environment, and to accelerate our work in exploring the feasibility for the designation of a Nitrogen
Oxide Emission Control Area (NECA) in the Mediterranean as a whole.
15. We encourage all stakeholders to integrate into their decision-making processes the work of the
Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development and consider as appropriate the outcome of
the Mediterranean 2050 Foresight report, coordinated by the Plan Bleu Regional Activity Center of
UNEP/MAP.
16. Noting with concern the high and rapidly increasing levels of plastic pollution in the Mediterranean
Sea as well as globally, with adverse effects on both human health and the environment, we affirm our
determination and ambition to work together, in line with United Nations Environment Assembly
(UNEA) resolution 5/14, towards fulfilling the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s (INC)
mandate to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the
marine environment, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastics1
as highlighted by the Contracting Parties at the 2023 Barcelona Convention COP in Portoroz Ministerial
Declaration.
17. Reaffirming the commitments made at previous Barcelona Convention COPs, we call for the
identification, at the upcoming COPs, of relevant measures to implement the Barcelona Convention
and support the contracting parties in the implementation of the future international legally binding
1 Egypt set a reservation regarding “the full life cycle of plastics”, since Egypt would like to add at the end of the paragraph
“starting from product design”
instrument on plastic pollution, building on the Mediterranean experiences and the well-established
circular economy models, sustainable production and consumption patterns, and environmentally
sound management of plastic waste, among other tools and measures to address marine litter,
including plastic marine litter.
18. In that regard, we will strengthen the implementation of the legally binding Regional Plan for
Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean under the Protocol for the Protection of the
Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol), by taking
concrete actions coherent to the implementation timeline of the measures provided for in the Plan to
achieve a substantial reduction and prevention of pollution, with the intention to eliminate the release
of plastics into the environment, through circular economy and source-to-sea approaches.
19. We will promote policies to phase out the production and consumption of unnecessary and
problematic plastic products, based on criteria to be defined under the international legally binding
instrument, in favour of safe, sustainable, reusable and cost efficient alternatives that are better for
human health and the environment, taking into account specific national circumstances. We therefore
will work on regulating and progressively eliminating, by 2030, the production and consumption of the
most environmentally damaging single-use plastics and the use of chemicals of concern in plastics,
based on criteria to be defined under the international legally binding instrument, especially those
that come in direct contact with consumers and those most likely to cause harm or hinder circularity.
We also recognize the importance of our constant monitoring of and combatting plastic litter in the
marine environment in the Mediterranean Sea, and encourage the use of innovative technologies to
remove this waste, including microplastics, to protect and restore marine ecosystems.
20. We reiterate our commitment to invest in effective wastewater treatment and waste management
infrastructures, including recycling and material recovery facilities, and to implement national plans to
gradually reduce and ultimately close coastal dump sites and where national geographical
circumstances allow, landfills, in order to drastically reduce plastic waste and microplastics entering
the marine environment. To achieve these goals, we will promote the mobilization of financial
resources from a wide variety of sources as well as support research and development of new
environmentally friendly technologies and materials.
21. We decide to strengthen cooperation among Mediterranean coastal countries and actors to
harmonize policies, taking into account national circumstances as appropriate, and share best
practices in plastic waste management, particularly within the framework of the Barcelona Convention
and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). In this regard, we support the Mediterranean circular
economy network Circe.med.
22. We reiterate our commitment to enhance action and synergies with relevant regional frameworks
and agreements in particular the UfM, the General Fisheries Commission of the Mediterranean,
Ramoge and Pelagos. We also encourage the implementation of concrete initiatives and actions, such
as in the context of the Plan of Action “a Mediterranean: a model sea by 2030” (PAMEx), the Blue Med
Partnership, the MedFund, and the the WestMED initiative.
23. Aware of the strong attractiveness of the Mediterranean region as a tourist destination and the
impacts of unsustainable tourism practices on natural resources, and recalling the 2021 UfM
Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy, we will work on promoting the transition to a
sustainable blue economy in national strategies and, in particular, on supporting the Flagship Initiative
on sustainable tourism under the MSSD.
24. We recognize the role of Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (RSCAPs) in assisting countries
and regions in addressing marine pollution and enhancing the conservation and sustainable use of the
ocean and its resources, as well as their contributions to the achievement of SDG14 and the ocean
related targets of the 2030 Agenda, and commit to raise the profile of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona
Convention system and promote its involvement, as appropriate, at relevant ocean-related global
events with the participation and support of the Secretariat.
25. We reaffirm our commitment to involve youth in environmental issues, including those related to
climate change and decision-making processes innovatively, including through modernizing education
programs and promoting education for sustainable development and global citizenship in both formal
and informal settings to raise young people’s awareness on the importance of the environment and
sustainable development from an early age and as an instrumental tool for the achievement of the
SDGs. To this aim, we promote inter-generational cooperation processes and global initiatives, such as
but not limited to Youth4Climate, co-led by Italy and the United Nations Development Program, as
effective tools to support youth-led and youth-inclusive solutions. We reaffirm the importance of
facilitating public access to information and public participation, including that of civil society, which is
key to ensure the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
26. We call on all actors, including local authorities, international organizations, financial institutions,
civil society, academia, and the private sector including industry, to join us in this vital mission in the
spirit of solidarity and reinforced regional collaboration. Together, we can look back to see the
incredible path we went through for the last 50 years and look forward to ensure a sustainable future
for the Mediterranean Sea and its coastal communities through the effective implementation of the
Barcelona Convention and its Protocols