15 September 2016 - The United Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan – Secretariat to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (UNEP / MAP) and the Italian Ministry of Environment signed on 14 September in Rome, a bilateral cooperation agreement for the protection of the sea, in the presence of H.E Ms. Silvia Velo, the Italian Undersecretary for Environment.

Development and enhancing of an effective Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs) management, Enhancement of Marine Litter Management, Creation of a Mediterranean Network of CAMP Projects (Coastal Area Management Program) and Promotion of governance tools for “Blue Growth”, are the main points of the agreement.

Welcoming the agreement, Ms Velo said, “It is an initiative undertaken to strengthen the collaboration and cooperation between our country and the Barcelona Convention, following the signature of the Carta di Livorno (“Livorno Charter”). In view of the Italian G7 presidency and in the first phase of implementation of the Agreement, priority will be given to actions for the management of marine litter and the promotion of governance tools of Blue Growth”.

The three-year agreement, valued at approximately four and a half million euro, will assist in achieving important objectives of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, such as the protection and sustainable use of the seas, oceans, marine resources and marine protected areas, by virtue of the purposes identified in the agreement.

Thanking Italy for its continuous support, Gaetano Leone, Coordinator of UNEP / MAP - Secretariat to the Barcelona Convention and its protocols said: "The cooperation agreement that we signed today confirms once again the extraordinary commitment of Italy for the protection of the marine and coastal environment of the Mediterranean. The priorities that we have developed together, fall in the UNEP/MAP Mid Term Strategy and will produce concrete actions which will have a great impact ".

Src: UNEP/MAP