Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development and Acting Minister of the Environment, President of the current session of the Twenty-Fourth Conference of the Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Environment from Pollution, inaugurated the Barcelona Convention COP24", today, Thursday, the ministerial part of the conference.
UNEP Representing the Executive Director of the Programme, Dr. Ali Abusna, Head of the Environmental Affairs Agency, ministers and representatives of 21 countries from the Mediterranean Basin, heads of delegations of States Parties, regional and international organizations, and representatives of civil society.
In her speech, Awad expressed Egypt’s pride in hosting and chairing the twenty-fourth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Zone of the Mediterranean Sea and its protocols, as the Mediterranean brings together the countries bordering it culturally, geographically, and humanely, and also places on those countries the task of ensuring its sustainability for future generations, in light of the escalating challenges it is witnessing, including marine pollution, increasing pressures on coastal ecosystems, the effects of climate change, and loss of diversity. Biological.
Dr. Manal Awad pointed out that the Barcelona Convention, which was signed nearly five decades ago in 1976, developed in 1995 to become one of the most comprehensive legal frameworks for protecting the seas at the regional and global level, as its seven protocols contributed to building an interconnected system that works to combat pollution from land and marine sources, regulate marine activities and reduce risks, protect coastal areas and biodiversity, and integrate the principles of integrated management and development. Sustainable.
The Minister explained that the scale of the environmental challenges in the Mediterranean basin that we are currently witnessing requires accelerating the pace of implementation, strengthening financing mechanisms, expanding the scope of nature-based solutions, and adopting innovation and clean technologies.
The Minister also affirmed that Egypt’s hosting of this conference comes as a confirmation of its deep commitment to protecting the marine environment, as a Mediterranean country with a long coastline of great sensitivity, beauty, and biodiversity, on which millions of citizens depend for their livelihoods, and which constitutes a foundation for vital sectors such as tourism, maritime transport, fisheries, and marine energy.
Dr. Manal Awad added that the Egyptian government, represented by the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, has worked over the past years to coordinate advanced national policies that include preparing the general framework for the participatory strategy for the blue economy, strengthening the marine environmental monitoring system, protecting the most environmentally sensitive areas and creating new marine reserves, developing sustainable infrastructure for ports and maritime transport, implementing plans to reduce plastic pollution and reduce marine waste, and integrating the environmental and marine dimension into investment and development plans. For the state.
The Minister of Local Development and Acting Minister of the Environment noted that choosing the topic of the blue economy as the title of the current session of the conference comes from the belief that it is one of the most important drivers of development in the coming decades, provided that it remains based on the rational use of marine resources and adherence to environmental standards.
Awad pointed out that this year’s meeting of the parties comes at a crucial moment in the Mediterranean region, which is one of the regions in the world most affected by climate change, and is exposed to accelerating environmental pressures. She expressed hope that the intense discussions between delegations over the past two days will lead to the adoption of a large number of important decisions, including the adoption of the regional framework for climate change, the approval of plans for biodiversity and marine reserves, and support for governance and the shift towards the economy. Blue.
The minister continued that the “Cairo Declaration” It will be a milestone, reflecting the joint political will of member states, and setting a road map to promote the achievement of environmental sustainability, a fair and comprehensive blue economy, innovation and green transformation, reducing the effects of climate change, and enhancing community participation, especially for youth and women..
For his part, Ambassador Peter Thompson, the official envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Ocean Affairs, thanked the Minister of Environment and the Egyptian government for their generous hospitality, stressing the importance of the meeting of the contracting parties COP24 In supporting regional efforts to preserve the health of the oceans and the Mediterranean, which are subject to significant deterioration due to human activity resulting from increased carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, as a result of the use of fossil fuels; Which leads to the loss of biodiversity, fish wealth and coral reefs; This was confirmed by the World Meteorological Authority’s report for last year, which requires the necessity of international and regional action through various international agreements and conferences, based on scientific evidence, and working to fulfill those international commitments, stressing the need to redouble efforts towards the green transformation and the blue and circular economy. Because the future of humanity and future generations is linked to the health of the seas and oceans..
Meanwhile, Susan Garner, Director of the Environmental Resources Division of the United Nations Environment Program UNEP, representing the Executive Director of the programme, expressed her happiness to participate in the Twenty-Fourth Conference of the Parties to the Barcelona Convention COP24, praising the role of the Mediterranean countries in implementing the action plan for the Mediterranean to prevent pollution.
Stressing that this conference is an opportunity for synergy in implementing the goals of sustainable development and implementing all environmental agreements in order to protect marine species that are at risk of extinction as a result of pollution of the marine environment, and to preserve ecosystems, through cooperation to reduce environmental pollution in coastal areas that affects the environment and health, and to enhance investment in the sustainable blue economy, sustainable development strategies, and energy fields.
During the opening, a short introductory film was shown about the importance of the Mediterranean to Egypt and the efforts it is making at the governmental and civil levels to protect the Mediterranean environment, and what it aspires to achieve for the Mediterranean region through its presidency of the twenty-fourth Conference of the Parties to the Barcelona Convention COP24.
