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Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development

MIO-ECSDE

The Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development, is a non-profit Federation of Mediterranean Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for Environment and Development.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Desislava Dimitrova (Cabinet of Commissioner Glenn Micallef)

6 Mar 2025 · Introductory meeting

Meeting with Filippo Terruso (Cabinet of Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas)

20 Feb 2025 · presentation MIO-ECSDE activities on sustainability in the Mediterranean

Response to Protecting biodiversity: nature restoration targets

8 Aug 2022

The Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE) considers the new EU Nature Restoration Law as a very important time-bound step towards combating the triple planetary crisis of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss, all issues of enormous importance and relevance to the Mediterranean. The inclusion of forest ecosystems and marine areas (in particular, seagrass and seabed) among the spheres of intervention of the law and the bottom-up approach of the restoration planning by Member States, are both welcome points. However, MIO-ECSDE has identified some weaknesses and puts forth some recommendations in order to facilitate the strong implementation of the legislation and not limit it to wishful thinking: - It is not clear how different the efforts to be made by Member States will be, given the national and regional characteristics (ecosystems, biodiversity richness, endemism, etc.). - We are concerned that giving too much freedom to Member States will result in delays and a lack of effective action at national level. - The proposal needs to reflect better that restoration needs cooperation among European regions with a strong legal enabling foundation. - The need for public participation and consultation provisions for the development of the national restoration plans needs to be further strengthened in the proposal to ensure openness and inclusivity in their formulation. - The vagueness of what the cumulative effects of the implementation of the law would be on different stakeholders and sectors (fishers, farmers, land owners, forest managers, industry, renewables, etc.) implies that assessments would have to be done by Member States. - Climate change adaptation and fire-smart management plans, policies, and practices must be considered when setting targets to ensure no deterioration of ecosystems following their restoration. - The new law should clearly define the funding mechanisms and facilitate the participation of NGOs and other interested actors in this endeavor. - The enforceability of the 20% overarching objective for 2030 needs to be better clarified. Only real area-based restoration should count towards this objective while terrestrial “compensation” for lacking marine restoration should be avoided.
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Response to Protecting the environment in the EU’s seas and oceans

6 May 2021

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the first all-encompassing piece of European legislation specifically aimed at the protection of the marine environment. Since the MSFD adoption in 2008, MIO-ECSDE has closely followed and has dynamically contributed to the implementation of the MSFD, witnessing first-hand the instrumental role it has played in pursuing Good Environmental Status (GES) in European waters; thus, rightfully characterizing it as one of the most ambitious international marine protection legal frameworks. MIO-ECSDE welcomes the roadmap for the review of the MSFD and considers as imperative need the process of examining the achievements and shortcomings of the MSFD as well as of exploring the options for improvement and proposals for possible amendments. MIO-ECSDE fully agrees with the context of the roadmap and the emphasis on assessing the relevance of the MSFD to the European Green Deal, and particularly to the new Biodiversity Strategy, the forthcoming Zero Pollution Action Plan and the Climate Adaptation Strategy. The roadmap’s criteria and evaluation questions are clearly defined and seem to be sufficient for the MSFD evaluation, while the problem definition section fully and accurately reflects the major challenges and shortcomings of the MSFD that have been highlighted by MIO-ECSDE on numerous occasions. When it comes to the section of the roadmap focusing on objectives and policy options, MIO-ECSDE finds it premature to list at this stage policy options to address the MSFD related issues. MIO-ECSDE strongly believes that the first two policy options put forth in the roadmap, the option for a baseline scenario (business as usual) and the option for the repeal of the MSFD are not compatible with the findings of the MSFD implementation report. In particular, when it comes to the latter this would be a rather devastating path to take, considering that now more than ever we should be accelerating our efforts to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health by reducing marine pressures, increasing ocean resilience and promoting ocean prosperity for generations to come.
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Response to 8th Environment Action Programme

31 Dec 2020

The 8th EAP, building on the preceding EAP’s 2050 vision to “live well, within the planetary boundaries”, remains an important and strategic tool. The links with the European Green Deal (EGD), the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a sustainable and rapid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the clear intent to create a common ownership (policy makers, regions and cities, businesses, social partners, civil society organisations and individual citizens) are all very welcome. Even if the 8th EAP priority objectives are valid, it is unclear how the 2050 vision will be achieved. The anticipated limited number of headline indicators may jeopardize the effort of measuring real progress and the added value that the new EAP can bring. Especially knowing that existing indicators do not sufficiently cover aspects mentioned in the 8th EAP such as “doing no harm” and “well-being as a compass for policy”. We therefore welcome the planned “wide consultation process with other EU institutions, Member States and stakeholders to design a comprehensive 8th EAP monitoring framework, based on a consultative document outlining the proposed methodology and steps to be taken.” One of the lessons learnt from the European Commission’s assessment of the 7th EAP is that insufficient implementation due to weak policy integration into other policy areas (CAP, CFP, cohesion policy) remains a significant problem. Although recognized in the text, it is not clear how this challenge will be overcome. How will the required mainstreaming of the priority objectives into all relevant strategies, legislative and non-legislative initiatives, and financial instruments, with better coordination at the local, regional and national level, be achieved this time round? In addition, for an organization such as ours, working on the Mediterranean interface, there should be clear policy and operational cross-links of the 8th EAP and the EU Neighbourhood Instrument as well as with the UN Regional Conventions such as the Barcelona Convention. Considering that the Mediterranean region is warming at a rate 20% faster than the world’s average, the 8th EAP should have more direct channels of influence and support toward the Union for the Mediterranean’s “2030GreenerMed” Agenda (full title: Contributing to Achieving the Environmental SDGs in the Mediterranean) which is to be endorsed by the forthcoming UfM Ministerial Meeting on Environment and Climate Action in 2021. It follows an integrated approach, avoiding duplication, minimizing gaps and disconnected policy tools. It is a tailor-made approach in line with the Mediterranean context and challenges. Crucial systemic and just transition is possible when the social and sustainability dimensions are integrated within the objectives of the EAP. The unequal distribution of costs and benefits arising from systemic changes require a strong knowledge base, innovation, Education for Sustainable Development, transparent stakeholder engagement and capacity building. Environmental NGOs and civil society play a key role in this. Europe will not achieve its sustainability vision of ‘living well, within the limits of our planet’ simply by promoting economic growth and seeking to cope with harmful environmental and social side‑effects. Only when the economic, sociocultural and environmental domains are truly inter-related and inter-dependent can the EU effectively address the challenges of the 21st century. A mid-term evaluation is needed to assess progress in terms of achievement of the objectives of the 8th EAP as the environmental and climate pillar of the new European post 2020 Strategy, and identification of implementation gaps. If the 2029 evaluation is the only one, a year before expiry, it will be too late.
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