The 19^th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention hosted by the Hellenic Government, will be held in Athens from 9 to 12 February 2016, with the participation of the Deputy Executive Director of the UNEP Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw.

Representatives of 21 Mediterranean countries and the European Union are expected to debate and adopt a number of decisions on biodiversity and ecosystems, land and sea-based pollution, sustainable consumption and production, and climate change adaptation. These decisions, which address specific issues of the implementation of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols, will define strategies and actions on sustainable development in the Mediterranean.

Under the theme “Forty Years of Cooperation for Healthy and Productive Mediterranean Sea and Coast: A Collective Journey Towards Sustainable Development”, a ministerial session will be held on 11 February during which Mediterranean ministers are expected to renew their commitment and determination to address together the emerging challenges related to environmental protection and sustainable development of the Mediterranean Sea and coast, in the global framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the UN General Assembly.

The Meeting, which coincides with the 40^th anniversary of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP)-Barcelona Convention comes at a defining stage for global sustainable development and at a key moment for the future of the Mediterranean region: integrating agreed universal and transformative global goals and targets into the post-2015 development agenda, transitioning to a green and blue economy, implementing a new climate change agreement, and striving to revive and boost stagnant economies are processes with a profound impact at all levels.