ICZM PROTOCOL
Supporting countries in ratifying and implementing the ICZM Protocol
The ICZM Protocol represents a pivotal outcome of collaborative efforts between UNEP/MAP, PAP/RAC, and Mediterranean countries to establish a legal framework for coastal management. It aims to ensure Mediterranean coasts’ health, resilience, productivity, distinctiveness, and diversity. When MedProgramme was launched in 2020, four MedProgramme countries had already ratified the Protocol on ICZM in the Mediterranean.
To support MedProgramme countries on their path to resilient and sustainable coasts, four major lines of activities aiming for the ratification and implementation of the ICZM Protocol have been undertaken:
During the project development stage, several countries that have not yet ratified the ICZM Protocol requested an analysis of their legal framework in relation to the ICZM Protocol. In addition to conducting national legal studies, the legal expert team has conducted a comparative analysis of the coastal legislation in five selected Mediterranean countries. Their findings and recommendations for coastal legislation were discussed at the regional workshop, which took place in Split, Croatia, on 25 May 2023, for the representatives of the following states: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Montenegro, Morocco and Tunisia. Based on these discussions, international and national legal experts, government representatives, and PAP/RAC team members further refined and finalised the Recommendations.
News
29.05.2023
Coastal legal frameworks workshop identifies recommendations for Mediterranean countries
Outputs
Aligning Coastal Legislation with the ICZM Protocol in the Mediterranean (Recommendations)
Rapport de l’atelier régional sur la législation côtière du 25 mai 2023
The attractiveness of the Mediterranean coastal zones results in competing pressures over the coastal space. Identifying and understanding land cover change processes, particularly urbanisation or land take, is essential for coastal planning and management. The impacts of urbanisation compromise the integrity of ecosystems and landscapes, whose preservation is one of the crucial ICZM Protocol objectives. Moreover, land use is the world’s second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and soil is a major “sink” of greenhouse gases. As a result, monitoring land cover change is a crucial indicator for adaptation and mitigation in coastal zones and serves as an essential tool for promoting sustainability and guiding our society towards a greener future.
News
18.02.2024
Multi-stakeholder consultation on the calculation of the candidate common indicator 25 organised in Tunis
30.11.2023
Workshop on monitoring land cover changes for participants from Montenegro
31.03.2023
CORMON Coast and Hydrography meeting as a step forward in developing the 2023 QSR
31.05.2023
Workshop on Land cover monitoring for coastal zone planning and management held in Split
31.03.2023
CORMON Coast and Hydrography meeting as a step forward in developing the 2023 QSR
Outputs
Manual for IMAP Candidate Common Indicator 25 “Land cover change” calculation (including Addendum)
National baseline assessments for land cover change monitoring – Albania
National baseline assessments for land cover change monitoring – Bosnia & Herzegovina
National baseline assessments for land cover change monitoring – Lebanon
National baseline assessments for land cover change monitoring – Montenegro
National baseline assessments for land cover change monitoring – Morocco
National training reports on land cover change monitoring – available upon request
Enhancing governance is one of the common objectives of PAP/RAC activities. Governance implies tangible and intangible methods and processes needed to make and implement decisions. Committees, boards, or councils represent active links between management and governance. In this regard, PAP/RAC assists MedProgramme countries in establishing and working with inter-ministerial committees and groups, as well as advisory councils and boards.
News
20.12.2023
CAMP B&H successfully concluded
08.11.2023
Ministers gathered for the implementation of the ICZM Protocol in Tunisia
31.10.2023
Field study of an Algerian delegation to Croatia
02.12.2022
Tunisia has ratified the ICZM Protocol!
15.09.2022
Final conference of CAMP B&H and the Coast Day 2022
17.06.2021
Meeting to present the national ICZM strategy in Tunisia
27.05.2021
The new integrated coastal zone management strategy (2020-2030) validated in Algeria!
PAP/RAC has been implementing the ICZM and planning for over thirty years to assist coastal regions in directing coastal zone development towards sustainability. Over the past decade, resilience has become a top priority for many coastal areas. Article 18 of the Protocol invites countries to prepare coastal strategies and plans. Coastal plans may be standalone or integrated with other plans. These plans serve as guides towards coastal sustainability and resilience. This activity aims to develop a set of guidelines for coastal plans that comply with the ICZM Protocol.
News
03.05.2024
Understanding that nature is key for climate change adaptation
15.07.2022
Setting the ground for coastal adaptation planning along the Mediterranean