The 10th MEDCOAST scientific conference was held in Rhodes, Greece, from 25 to 29 October. More than 100 participants from the Mediterranean, but also from other world countries like Japan, Mexico, South Africa and Russia, attended this unique scientific conference on ICZM. Scientists presented their work related to the coastal zones, exchanged ideas and discussed different innovative solutions for the coastal challenges of today.
International organisations led by MAP and PAP/RAC presented the state-of-the-art of their activities, in particular the Action Plan for the implementation of the ICZM Protocol that entered into force in March this year. The Protocol was illustrated with local examples from Spain and Egypt. In addition, two large initiatives in the Mediterranean, the MedPartnership and the PEGASO project, were presented and discussed.
Several representatives of the national government attended the conference as well and got the insight into the latest research in the region. During the conference ambitious plans for the future were discussed, in particular related to the next biennial conference which will mark 20 years of the MEDCOAST scientific conferences, but also 40 years of the US Coastal Zone Management Act. The conference was concluded with the Rhodes declaration stressing the strength of the MEDCOAST family.
