Exploring a network for Mediterranean mountains
20.11.2015
A group of government officials, intergovernmental agency workers, academics and civil society members decided, on 12-13 November 2015 in Ventimiglia, Italy, to continue working toward forming a network for Mediterranean mountains. Various experiences and perspectives were shared during a meeting called, “Common Visions and Projects for the Sustainable Development of Mountain Areas in the Mediterranean Region”, laying the preliminary foundation for a new partnership.
Organized by the Italian Ministry of the Environment in its office of Italian Delegation to the Alpine Convention, alongside several partners, including UNEP Vienna-Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) and the Liguria Region, the two-day meeting focused on building the resilience of mountainous areas in the Mediterranean region, addressing climate change, landscape and biodiversity issues, in particular. The meeting was opened by the State Secretary of Serbia Stana Bozovic, who underlined the deep interest of her country in the Mediterranean region, followed by the institutional greetings of Councilor to the Environment of the Liguria Region Giacomo Giampredone and a video message from the director of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan, Gaetano Leone. Over ten speakers from Mediterranean countries, including Egypt, France and Morocco presented specific projects and experiences that could be relevant to the new network.
“Mountains play an important role in the Mediterranean region, from an ecological perspective, they are characterized by an extreme diversified ecosystem, host most of the biodiversity hotspots and provide local populations with basic goods and services and vital resources, such as water. There are a distinct linkage and ecosystem continuity between the mountains and the coastal areas in the Mediterranean region that have ensured the socio-economic development of the entire region for centuries, for instance, through the role of rivers flows”, said Paolo Angelini of Italy’s Ministry of the Environment and head of the Italian Delegation to the Alpine Convention who chaired the first day of the meeting “Several international declarations and initiatives specifically dedicated to cooperation for the sustainable development and the protection of the Mediterranean mountains have already been adopted in the past and the meeting of Ventimiglia is intended to be part of a wider ‘Road map for the Mediterranean Mountains’ that we proposed to our partners in order to capitalize on these ongoing initiatives. In this sense, at the closure of the meeting, the opportunity for another appointment emerged – for the end of 2016.”
The 1.7 million sq km of Mediterranean ground that mountains cover need to be addressed with specific policy actions, an earlier meeting had concluded. They have an important aesthetic, symbolic and recreational meaning that attracts visitors from Europe and worldwide; they host long-term traditional systems and approaches to managing territorial and natural resources (e.g. in farming, craftsmanship and food industry); and finally they are considered early indicators of climate change and are particularly vulnerable to its physical, economic and social effects, according to a September workshop led by Italy’s Ministry of the Environment at Expo 2015 in Milan, Italy.
“The Mountain Partnership Secretariat stands ready to support this very timely initiative that is sure to directly interest and involve numerous Mountain Partnership members,” Mia Rowan of the MPS told the participants.
The second day of the meeting delved into a concrete example of transboundary cooperation, discussing the best practices and achievements of the six-year Alcotra ADM project that improved the quality of the lives of the people and developed sustainable economic and trans-frontier systems along the mountainous border between France and Italy.
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Photo: Fabio Piuma
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