For a cleaner Mediterranean by the year 2020This initiative is funded by the European Commission through DG EuropeAid.
For a cleaner Mediterranean by the year 2020For a cleaner Mediterranean by the year 2020The Mid-Term Evaluation of the EU funded H2020 Capacity Building/ Mediterranean Environment Programme (ENPI/2009/220-191) undertaken by an external evaluator (IBF International Consulting) in order to assess the results, impact and outcomes of the service contract led by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, aiming at conducting a comprehensive training programme for beneficiaries from the ENP South countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya since 2012, Morocco, Palestine, Syria until 2011, and Tunisia), Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro) and Turkey. The programme covers the Southern Mediterranean countries between 2010 and 2014 and the Western Balkans and Turkey from 2010 to 2012. The assignment started on 01 April 2013 and continued until September 2013. The final report (http://www.h2020.net/en/resources/h2020-mid-term-review-documents.html) summarises the results of the evaluation. The project was found to have delivered good results according to all evaluation criteria. Relevance was excellent, all other aspects good.
A highly technical four-day training course was organized in Poreč, Croatia, from 17-20 September 2013 by the EU funded Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme (CB/MEP), which supports the EuroMed Initiative to depollute the Mediterranean by the year 2020 (Horizon 2020).
The 4th Meeting of the Horizon 2020 Capacity Building Sub-Group took place in Brussels, 19 November 2013. The main aim was to report and evaluate the progress of the H2020 Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme (CB/MEP), which is the EU funded project supporting the implementation of the H2020 capacity building component. The Mid-Term Evaluation undertaken by an external evaluator (see above) was also discussed by the sub group.
The highlight of a two-day EU funded sub-regional training on how the transition to a green economy can be financed (Tunis, 1-2 October 2013) was a roundtable session with representatives of public and private banks and green business projects.
As part of the Review and Monitoring component of the Horizon 2020 Initiative and the setting-up of a regular Horizon 2020 reporting mechanism, the European Environment Agency (EEA), together with the ENP South partner countries, are developing the first regional assessment report. This is done in close cooperation with UNEP/MAP (Barcelona Convention), the Capacity Building component of Horizon 2020 (CB/MEP), the European Investment Bank and the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean.
In the framework of the SEIS project, support is given to Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia and soon Morocco to introduce Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) as an effective tool in their national reporting systems. The six pilot exercises are under implementation with the support of UNEP/MAP-MEDPOL and at the regional level also with the support of the Capacity Building component of Horizon 2020.
Municipal solid waste, urban waste water and industrial emissions are still heavily impacting the Mediterranean marine environment. Despite all the efforts made, a lot remains to be done to secure finance for pollution reduction investments and make them sustainable, to increase the capacity of governments to devise and enforce conducive regulatory and policy frameworks and to monitor the state of the environment.
A regional report is currently under preparation jointly by the EEA and UNEP/MAP under the Horizon 2020 Initiative, which will assess progress in the depollution of the Mediterranean Sea with a focus on the three Horizon 2020 priority areas (i.e. municipal solid waste; urban waste water; industrial emissions). The 4th meeting of the RMR Sub Group (June 2013) adjusted the report outline to reflect progress in the reporting process.
