Tatjana Hema
Coordinator UNEP/MAP
FOREWARD
I am delighted to introduce this latest instalment of the Mediterranean Quality Status Report (MED QSR), a major achievement of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP)-Barcelona Convention system. This is the upshot of a collective endeavor involving the Contracting Parties, MAP partners, in particular the scientific community, the Secretariat and the MAP Components.
Monitoring and assessment of the marine and coastal environment have been central to the mandate of the MAP system since its establishment in 1975 as the first regional action plan under the UN Environment Programme’s Regional Seas Programme, and since the adoption of the Barcelona Convention one year later. For almost five decades, numerous MAP system-generated monitoring and assessment reports, including the first instalment of MED QSR issued in 2017, contributed to the accumulation of an ever-deeper body of knowledge of the marine and coastal ecosystems.
The MED QSR series builds on a robust conceptual foundation and nationally sourced, quality-assured data submitted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention or other reliable sources, to provide an evidence-based intelligible assessment of Good Environmental Status (GES) of the Mediterranean Sea and coast, based on a GES /non-GES approach, as defined in the framework of the ecosystem approach and its Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme IMAP.
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The preparation of the 2023 MED QSR has thus seen coordinated efforts on data acquisition covering the 9 Ecological Objectives, including 23 Common Indicators of IMAP.
A noteworthy fact about the 2023 MED QSR is the way it embodies the scale-shifting versatility that is required for effective environmental assessment. The report blends national data with patterns observed at the regional level. By distilling new knowledge, the report also contributes to other relevant assessment exercises at global, regional and national levels, and the implementation of respective policies and regulatory framework.
As in any endeavor of this magnitude, it was not all plain sailing. Challenges included gaps in data provision that varied at the level of common indicator or ecological objective from one sub-region to another as IMAP was at a relatively early phase of implementation for a number of Contracting Parties.
video
Executive summary
Summary for policymakers
coming soon
MAPS
The following interactive maps aim to offer a panoramic view of the assessment findings as provided per IMAP Common Indicators. They are composed of figures included in the 2023 MED QSR
Ecological objectives and their related Common Indicators
Introduction
the mediterranean sea
mediterranean quality status assessments
main actions and measures