SUPREME and SIMWESTMED projects launched

SUPREME and SIMWESTMED projects hold a joint conference entitled “Marine Spatial Planning in the Mediterranean, an occasion for Blue Growth” on 27 February 2017 in the premises of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in Rome. The Conference was a great opportunity for policy makers, scientists and practitioners coming from maritime sectors to share their views, experiences and expectations regarding sustainable use of Mediterranean resources. The PAP/RAC Director presented exciting new initiatives and trends related to protection and planning of the marine space, in the framework of the Barcelona Convention.

Back-to-back with the Conference, the kick-off meetings for the SUPREME and SIMWESTMED projects were organised the following day. The projects involve public authorities in charge of MSP in Western (France, Italy, Malta and Spain) and Eastern (Croatia, Greece, Italy-Adriatic part and Slovenia) Mediterranean Member States, and the UN Environment/MAP. The activities of the projects focus on supporting implementation of the MSP process in the EU Members States, and developing transboundary collaboration to manage MSP initiatives. The total budget foreseen for these 2-year projects is nearly 4.5 million Euros.