Montenegrin delegation participates in COP 22

The Montenegrin delegation, led by State Secretary for Ecology Danilo Mrdak, participated in the 22nd Meeting (COP 22) of the Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) and its Protocols. The meeting was held from 7 to 10 December 2021 in Antalya. The delegation also included Adviser to the Prime Minister on Urbanism Ana Samardžić, Director General of the Directorate of Nature Tamara Brajović, and Head of the Directorate for Integrated Management of Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems and contact person for the Barcelona Convention for Montenegro Ivana Stojanović.

Branded the “COP for the Mediterranean”, COP 22 delivered a substantial contribution to regional efforts aimed at a green recovery in the Mediterranean. It adopted a groundbreaking decision on the Designation of the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, as an Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides (MED SOx ECA) pursuant to MARPOL Annex VI. The measure is expected to generate significant benefits for human health and for the integrity of ecosystems, which both suffer from harmful SOx emissions from the maritime transport sector, one of the pillars of the blue economy in the Mediterranean.

On biodiversity, COP 22 adopted the Post-2020 Strategic Action Programme for the Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the Mediterranean Region (Post-2020 SAPBIO), which is aligned with the building blocks of the Global Biodiversity Framework to be finalized next year under the UNCBD. This achievement was complemented with agreement on a Post-2020 Regional Strategy for protecting and conserving the Mediterranean through well connected and effective systems of marine and coastal protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and with Action Plans for the conservation of species and habitats under the Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean.

On 9 December, H.E. Ms. Emine Erdogan, the First Lady of Turkey, voiced her keen interest in the environment as she attended a roundtable entitled “Women Leadership on Environmental Matters in the Mediterranean Region” organized during COP 22, and took part in the ceremony during which the Spanish city of Málaga received the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award, an initiative under the Mediterranean Strategy of Sustainable Development.

Secretary of State Danilo Mrdak gave a presentation within the ministerial segment of the Conference, under the theme "Towards a Blue Mediterranean: Leaving a Pollution-Free Legacy, Protecting Biodiversity and Sustaining Climate Stability". Mrdak pointed to the results achieved in Montenegro in the last two years, such as declaring the first marine protected areas and the results of the GEF Adriatic project.