UNEP/MAP News Release | Environmental Protection in the Mediterranean Marks Milestone: Major Legal Instruments Enter into Force Following Syria ’s Ratification

Athens, 22 November 2010 – With the ratification by Syria of two of the most innovative legal instruments for environmental protection, the Offshore and the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Protocols of the Barcelona Convention(1) will soon enter into force. Syria becomes the first among the Mediterranean countries to have ratified the Barcelona Convention, its seven Protocols and all its amendments.

Regional Workshop: Sustainable management of river and lake basins: Empowering NGOs for a coordinated effective involvement, 4 November 2010 Ohrid, FYR Macedonia

This workshop was organized by MIO-ECSDE as the first of a series of events (meetings/consultations/workshops) to be organized, in cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med), contributing to the aims and objectives of the Drin Dialogue process.

AQUA 2010, 22-23 October, Athens, Greece

AQUA 2010 is co-organized for the 4th time by MIO-ECSDE, GWP-Med, the University of Athens and LEADER EXPO on 22-23 October 2010, in Paiania, Athens. The conference is organized in conjunction with the parallel Leaderexpo exhibitions

Youth X Change in the Mediterranean: the Egyptian events, 9-10 October, Cairo, Egypt . A project to challenge our consumption behaviors and inspire responsible consumer choices.

More than 150 young activists came together from 9 to 10 October in Cairo in order to promote sustainable consumption in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The two-day event, took place in the general framework of UNESCO/UNEP’s initiative “Youth X Change” and targets a mixed audience of youth, trainers, teachers, as well as media and local authorities.