MedSeA Project

Testing the Waters: the MedSeA video is now online!

Anna — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 15:58:58 +0000

The MedSeA Project is happy to announce that its video — Testing the Waters: Acidification in the Mediterranean — is now available on-line. The video, produced by Dutch director Maarten van Rouveroy, shows key information, scientific knowledge, and findings of the MedSeA Project, against the beautiful (and endangered) setting of the Mediterranean waters.

Testing the Waters is the summit of the MedSeA Project’s dissemination efforts to reach the widest audience possible, in order to raise awareness on the constant dangers stemming from ocean acidification and warming. Aquaculture, the tourism and leisure industries, and the whole economy of a large share of Europe’s coastline and population are threatened by these stresses. Spreading as much information as possible, while engaging policy-makers to address this issue and start devising solutions, is one of the key objectives of the MedSeA Project.

Testing the Waters was produced over the course of six months between January and June of 2014. This short documentary film was shot in Spain (Barcelona and Ebro Delta) as well as in Italy (Vulcano – Eolian Islands) with additional material coming from Israel and other places around the Mediterranean. The film was based on interviews with seven people with many others contributing in various capacities. A high-definition version is also available online.

All MedSeA members, partners and friends are warmly invited to share this page online and contribute to the scientific and social outreach of the Project!

Final MedSeA Meeting in Barcelona, 10th – 12th June 2014

Mika — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 12:29:44 +0000

To discuss and share knowledge about ocean acidification and climate change impacts on the Mediterranean marine environment, over 60 scientists from 10 countries, mainly from the Mediterranean region, met in Barcelona. The meeting was hosted by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, from 10-12 June 2014 for the Final Science Meeting of the MedSeA project.

The first day was dedicated to the report on the main findings on chemical, climatic, ecological, biological and economical changes of the Mediterranean Sea driven by ocean acidification and warming. From these findings an executive summary including main outcomes (10 FACTS on ocean acidification and warming in the Mediterranean Sea; available soon) was created.

The second day was dedicated to the MedSeA dissemination activities, the database and to discuss the knowledge gaps and the possible future activities. The afternoon session was dedicated to the Mediterranean Reference User Group (MRUG) to present the main results and a video about some project activities and to organise the dissemination of results to different stakeholders and decision makers.

Finally a press event was organized on June 12th and hosted by the EC delegation in Barcelona.

‘Our Ocean’ Conference

Mika — Sat, 14 Jun 2014 11:21:10 +0000

Next week (June 16-17), the U.S. Department of State will host the ‘Our Ocean’ Conference (http://ourocean.info/). The conference will bring together individuals, experts, practitioners, advocates, lawmakers, and the international ocean and foreign policy communities to gather lessons learned, share the best science, offer unique perspectives, and demonstrate effective actions. The conference aims to chart a way forward, working individually and together, to protect Our Ocean.

In addition to Keynote Addresses, the conference will have a series of panels to discuss:

- Sustainable Fishing
- Marine Pollution (marine debris and nutrients)
- Ocean Acidification

Carol Turley, member of the MedSeA consortium and of the scientific steering committee will contribute to the session on ocean acidification. The conference will be broadcast live on the internet. More details will be available on the conference website http://ourocean.info/ by Monday morning.

The conference also will have a live twitter feed (#ourocean2014) during each of the discussion sessions ? tweets will be shown on the screens and also selecting one or two for the panel moderators to ask the panelists.

Prioritise climate, environment, agree both sides of the Mediterranean

Mika — Thu, 15 May 2014 08:49:30 +0000

May 13th 2014, Athens:

Ministers attending the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) meeting issued a Declaration of their commitment to tackle the growing climate and environmental challenges facing the region. It is the first time climate change has been discussed at ministerial level within the UfM, a partnership promoting multilateral cooperation between 43 countries (28 EU Member States and 15 Mediterranean countries).

The expert group established by this Declaration will encourage the exchange of information and best practice across the region and promote the development of projects and initiatives related to low emission and climate-resilient development. The expert group will bring together academia, civil society, the private sector, international financial institutions, investors and local and national administrations.

HOPE for our seas and ocean

Mika — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:09:49 +0000

On March 3-4, was held the Healthy Oceans – Productive Ecosystems: a European conference for the marine environment, in Brussels.

In 2008, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) was adopted with the aim of protecting and managing our seas and oceans in a sustainable way. The Directive sets an ambitious objective: to achieve and maintain the good environmental status of European seas and oceans by 2020.

The HOPE Conference brought together those working with the European marine environment, providing an opportunity to discuss progress made since the adoption of the MSFD, the problems that still remain and the solutions for improved coherence and better marine governance.

At the close of the Healthy Oceans – Productive Ecosystems (HOPE) conference, the following “Declaration of HOPE” output document was issued. The HOPE conference was opened by Commissioner Potočnik in the presence of 15 EU environment ministers, and over 400 other attendees, including representatives from Member States, the Regional Sea Conventions, academia, industry, NGOs and other stakeholders.

The future of the Mediterranean Marine Ecosystem under discussion in Tunisia

patrizia — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 10:07:48 +0000

With the kind support and hosting of the Government of Tunisia, the Steering Committee of the MedPartnership project is holding its fourth meeting from 17 to 20 February 2014. The meeting aims to present and discuss the results of the implementation of the MedPartnership activities in 2012-2013, and define future strategies for the project. It also aims to discuss the progress made in the new sister project “Integration of climatic variability and change into national strategies to implement the ICZM Protocol in the Mediterranean”. The meeting was opened by Mr. Mounir Majdoub, the Secretary of State of Tunisia for Sustainable Development, in the presence of Ms. Maria Luisa Mejias Silva, Coordinator and Executive Secretary of the Barcelona Convention, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Birpinar President of the Bureau of the Barcelona Convention, Mr Kais Blouza, Director of the Agence Nationale de la Protection de l’Environnement (ANPE – National Agency for the protection of the Environment) as well as representatives of the project’s countries, executing partners and donors. “The Mediterranean Sea is sick, sick of our practices, our behaviors, our unconsciousness, our weakness, and our reluctance to admit reality”, said Mr Majdoub in his address to the participants. “We do not know what is happening in the deep water”, he added, ” we do not know if life will continue and for how long he underlined the need to improve governance in the Mediterranean 10 years after the elaboration of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development: ‘it is about time we, think together and make governance decisions in the Mediterranean, for a global, integrated, economic, social, cultural, ecological and natural governance”, he concluded. He also declared that Tunisia will be hosting the Coast Day this year. In his address, Mr Blouza welcomed all the participants and said that this project “is of great importance as it gathers a considerable number of participating countries, regional and international, technical and financial partner, but it is specifically interesting as it targets legal and institutional reform as well as concrete actions aiming at reverting the degradation of Mediterranean ecosystems”. In his opening speech, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Birpinar, President of the Bureau of the Barcelona Convention, highlighted the importance of the MedPartnership platform for the conservation and sustainability of the Mediterranean. “I hope the MedPartnership turns into the MedFriendship and cleaner Mediterranean brings peace to our world” he concluded. Thanking the Tunisian authorities for hosting the meeting, Ms Silva stressed that the region still needs coordinated action and assistance to address its many environmental challenges. She highlighted the importance of this meeting by saying: “this is a great opportunity to discuss and agree on the necessary measures that will allow us to move from good to excellent project results. During this 4-day meeting, a field visit to the demonstration site of Ghar el Melh, will be organized on 19 February. The Ghar El Melh aquifer, like many Mediterranean coastal aquifers, is vulnerable to contamination from land-based pollutants, seawater intrusion, and over-extraction of groundwater resources.

The MedSeA project was invited to partecipate to this meeting to highlight the importance of the responses to climatic and non-climatic drivers in a high-CO2 ocean.

Season’s Greetings from MedSeA

Anna — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:28:37 +0000

A MOOC (Not a Moose) Is Coming on January 27,2014!

Anna — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 19:46:34 +0000

We are very pleased to announce the World Bank’s first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on climate change, which will be launched next month on January 27, 2014. This course presents recent scientific evidence as well as some of the opportunities for urgent action on climate change. It also covers the latest knowledge and information based oncutting-edge research. It includes a session on ocean acidification by Carol Turley (PML).

It is being offered in two tracks: (1) General Public; and (2) Policy Makers and Practitioners. The course runs for 4 weeks, and is free of charge. You have access to the material for approximately 6 months after the course ends.

COP19: Side event on ocean acidification

Anna — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 23:24:01 +0000

Ocean acidification – the other CO2 problem

Ocean acidification is an emerging global concern and is a risk to marine biodiversity, ecosystems and human society. This event will highlight initiatives to address the challenges associated with ocean acidification, including the need for greater international observation and coordination.

A new international Summary for Policymakers on Ocean Acidification (IGBP, IOC-UNESCO and SCOR) and the results of the recent IPCC findings on ocean acidification will be presented at this event.

Monday 18 November 2013, 13:15—14:45
Venue: COP 19; The National Stadium, Warsaw; Room 4
Organizers: IOC-UNESCO, IAEA, PML, WMO, IMO, SCOR, IGBP

Please, find the link to the video presentation of the COP19 side event here.

Additional information can also be found at the Ocean Scientist for Informed Policy website.

Summary document for policymakers on the Economics of Ocean Acidification

Anna — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 12:43:40 +0000

The conclusions and recommendations from the 2^nd International Workshop on the Economics of Ocean Acidification, organized by the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM) and the IAEA in November 2012, was recently published in a summary document for policymakers. The brochure highlights the need to take urgent and adequate political decisions despite uncertainties and regional variations relating to the complex issue of ocean acidification. It lists the pressing actions needed to mitigate the adverse socio-economic consequences of ocean acidification on fisheries and aquaculture. The brochure includes a section of the regional impacts of Ocean Acidification on the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Click here to access the brochure on the Economics of Ocean Acidification.