STUDIES & ASSESSMENTS
PAP/RAC, the UNEP/MAP component responsible for supporting Mediterranean countries in implementing the ICZM Protocol, conducts various studies and assessments to better understand and manage environmental and climate impacts on coastal regions.
Coastal urbanisation is progressing along all Mediterranean coasts, including development in low-elevation coastal zones. Given the current levels of CO2 emissions and projections for future emissions, sea level rise poses a significant threat to the future of Mediterranean low-elevation coastal zones. Adaptation measures are costly, and many coastal regions lack the resources to implement them. This publication is a call to action, ranging from mitigating climate change to addressing the need for preventing climate risks. This can only be achieved by advocating for the termination of construction in low-elevation coastal zones or by incorporating adaptation strategies to protect existing developments.
The role of the financial sector in supporting sustainable development practices is crucial. This study invites financial institutions to halt support for risky coastal development projects and to invest in and promote resilient infrastructure projects.
Young people should be informed about these issues when planning their future.
Outputs
Policy Brief: Risks of investing in low elevation coastal zones in the Mediterranean (EN)
IIn the ICZM Strategy for Algeria (2020-2030), developing vulnerability studies for the coastal wilayas has been identified as one of the key priorities. Building on these conclusions, the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energies requested the support of PAP/RAC to lead the development of vulnerability studies in two wilayas: El Tarf and Mostaganem. Both wilayas are exposed to various natural or anthropogenic risks, which lead to multiple environmental, economic, or social vulnerabilities. The innovative methodology implemented throughout this project integrates the cumulative factors of climatic, social, and environmental vulnerability. The question of gender equality will be particularly addressed within the framework of social vulnerability.
Cost-Benefit Analyses (CBA) are going to be implemented for certain adaptation recommendations. In Boka Kotorska Bay the CBA focuses on protection from sea level rise and marine floods in selected locations, and on afforestation/reforestation while in Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima in Morocco it focused on afforestation/reforestation.
After identifying adaptation interventions suitable for mainstreaming into local coastal plans, we will conduct a study on the barriers and opportunities for implementing these interventions in the two priority areas.
To prepare reports on barriers and opportunities for implementing adaptation solutions in the Boka Kotorska area and the Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima region, existing relevant studies were assessed. Attention was given to governance issues, particularly legal, policy, and institutional barriers and opportunities for implementing certain adaptation solutions
For Boka Kotorska Bay, the first draft of this study was presented to the National Working Group on ICZM on 4th July 2024.
The Mediterranean basin encompasses diverse cultures, economies, political systems, and geographies, creating unique challenges and opportunities for development, governance, and cooperation. Here, we bring key considerations for learning from context-specific case studies in the North, South, and East Mediterranean.
Outputs
Study on Climate Risks and Solutions in the form of 10 selected case studies