MEPIELAN Centre, represented by its Director Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos, and UNEP/MAP, represented by the Coordinator Ms. Tatjana Hema, signed a Small Scale Funding Agreement (SSFA) on 22 November 2023 for the launching of a Training School as a first step on the educational programme on sustainable environmental governance in the Mediterranean Region.
This project is an educational implementation of the UNEP/MAP Medium Term Strategy (MTS) 2022-2027 and directly contributes to the application of the MTS Enabling Programme 7 “For informed and consistent advocacy, awareness, education and communication” , rendering the Mediterranean Region as “the first region in the world to develop a regional Strategy for Education on Sustainable Development” (MTS, para. 32). Contributing to several SDGs targets (in particular those under SDGs 4, 16 and 17), Programme 7 particularly focus on civil society engagement. The project is also an educational implementation of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) (Objective 6 – Governance and Objective 4 – Tackling climate change as a priority issue for the Mediterranean), and contributes to the implementation of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and its Protocols (Article 13 “Scientific and technical cooperation”, Article 15 “Information and public participation” of the Barcelona Convention and Article 15 of the Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).
As part of the Training Programme, the Training School is the first step towards the establishment of a Postgraduate Programme leading to a Master’s degree in sustainable maritime governance in the Mediterranean. The initiative for such a Training Programme has long been pursued by MEPIELAN at the Meetings and Conferences of the Parties to the Barcelona Convention and has been reflected in the Reports of these Meetings. The MEPIELAN Centre, as a UNEP/MAP Partner since 2013 and as a Non-Contracting Member of the Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development (MCSD) from 2015 to 2021, within the Scientific Community Group of the 40-member reformed MCSD (Decision IG. 22/17), worked to promote the Training Programme within this UNEP/MAP advisory body.
The Training School will develop a broad and comprehensive knowledge of interdisciplinary methodology, understanding of processes and innovative approaches to sustainable governance within the UNEP/MAP – Barcelona Convention system. It will explore the creative connection of environmental law and environmental governance with political science, ecology, management, technology, biological science, climate science, economics and social sciences, as well as addressing the critical ethical dimension. In this context, it will create a high quality international network of expertise of international organisations, academics and students in this field and contribute to the visibility and impact of the Barcelona Convention system.
The thematic areas of the Training School programme will include the following:
- The Barcelona Convention system for the protection of the marine environment and coastal areas of the Mediterranean
- Specific Law and Governance Issues for Environmental Protection and Sustainability in the Mediterranean Region and their relation to the Sustainable Development Goals
- Public Participation and Sustainability Governance in the Mediterranean Region: International Interlinkages
- Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Mediterranean
- Investment and Environment in the Mediterranean: Legal, Political and Economic Perspectives
The Training School will be conducted by MEPIELAN Centre in cooperation with the European Public Law Organization (EPLO), activating the Memorandum of Understanding between MEPIELAN Centre and EPLO 2022, and with the support of the UNEP/MAP Secretariat. It is expected to take place in October 2024, and will be delivered on line and interactively. An advanced training platform will be built for this purpose. The Programme is addressed to a wide audience of students, young professionals from public and private institutions and NGOs working in the field of environment and sustainable development, as well as young diplomats.
Distinguished speakers and lecturers will participate in the Training School coming from collaborating Universities, Research Centres and Institutes, International Organizations and Academic Associations.
More details will be available in due course on the MEPIELAN CENTRE Website, as well as on the websites of the UNEP/MAP and the EPLO.
About the author
MEPIELAN Centre
MEPIELAN Centre is an international research, training and educational centre established by Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos at the Panteion University of Athens in 2008.
Before its establishment as a University Centre, MEPIELAN operated as a successful international research, training and informational programme (2002-2007) under the scientific direction of Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos and the aegis of the Panteion University of Athens, supported by the Mediterranean Action Plan/UNEP and the Greek Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works.
MEPIELAN Centre is an accredited UNEP/MAP PARTNER (since 2013), a Member of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) (since 2016), and a Member of the Steering Committee of the MCSD (since 2019).
On 22 May 2022, MEPIELAN Centre proceeded to the development of MEPIELAN as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) for the more effective and efficient advancement of its Goals and Missions and furtherance of its activities. MEPIELAN Centre as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) is registered in Greek Law (Hellenic Business Registry, Reg. No. 16477300100) in accordance with Laws 4072/2012 & 4919/2022 as applicable
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