Abhatoo - Centre Nationale de Documentation

In the Mediterranean the human footprint driven by economic growth and, to a lesser extent, subsistence requirements has drastically increased. Protecting the environment of the Mediterranean Region—a biodiversity “hotspot”—is a priority for the beneficiary countries, the Global Environment Facility, and its partners, as evidenced in this report. In the Mediterranean, GEF has been engaged in 5 focal areas : Biodiversity (BD), Climate Change (CC), International Waters (IW), Land Degradation (LD), and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Since its founding in 1991, GEF has invested about $447 million (M) in the region, leveraging more than $1.720 billion in co-financing. This corresponds to an annual average of $15.3M up to the 3rd replenishment phase of the GEF. In the first two years of GEF’s current 4th Replenishment, GEF investments of about $131M in the Mediterranean have more than quadrupled. This increase reflects recent environmental trends, as well as the financial gaps necessary to address the region’s mounting global environmental challenges. Moreover, GEF-4 marks the first GEF investments to combat Land Degradation (LD) in the Mediterranean, with a $35M LD GEF-4 allocation to the region. The groundbreaking Integrated Nature Resources Management the Middle East and North Africa Region Program, known as MENARID, is a multi-focal program (LD, IW, CC/Adaptation, and BD) that adopts an integrated approach to natural resources management in the drylands to improve the economic and social well-being of targeted communities through the restoration and maintenance of key ecosystem functions. Water scarcity in productive landscapes is a common concern. Under GEF-4, the Mediterranean countries have also agreed on a collective effort to protect the natural resources of the Mediterranean Sea : the Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (SPMS). SPMS provides financial resources and technical knowledge through a combination of capital investments, economic instruments, policy and regulatory frameworks, and public participation. It will also develop a strategic regional approach to investments to greater benefit the basin countries. A renewed high-level commitment to a decade of transition to sustainability is needed to reverse the downward spiral in environmental, water, and human security. It will be critical to connect the plethora of institutions and fragmented programs. Along with all partners, the Mediterranean region is well poised for a country-led regional programmatic approach that could take the form of a Council on Environmental Management. Such a Council would integrate crucial environmental matters into development while maximizing the use of available GEF resources and co-financing. Building a better future for the Mediterranean will require much closer focus on integrating economic and environmental progress, including preserving essential ecological services and curtailing global warming. The GEF stands ready to spur efforts in this direction along with the Mediterranean countries and their partners.