The 20th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties (COP 20) to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and its Protocols took place in Tirana, Albania, from 17 to 20 December 2017. The Meeting, which was held under the theme ‘Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with focus on Sustainable Development Goal 14: Pollution and Biodiversity' was convened by the UN Environment / Coordinating Unit for the Mediterranean Action Plan and hosted by the Government of Albania. The aim of the Meeting was to review the progress achieved in the implementation of the programme of work for the 2016-2017 biennium and to take further steps in order to enhance the environmental protection and sustainable development in the Mediterreanean Sea.