The MEDCOAST Initiative: contributing towards sustainable development of coastal and sea resources of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea

Abstract

The First International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment, MEDCOAST '93, was held in Antalya (Turkey) on 2-5 November 1993, and attracted about 140 participants from 26 countries. A total of 91 papers was presented in 28 sessions covering a variety of topics, ranging from those of a scientific and technological nature, through policy and law issues, to conservation efforts and management experiences. The papers, a great majority of them directly addressing Mediterranean and Black Sea problems, were published in the twovolume proceedings. Selected papers are now in the process of being peer-reviewed for publication in a special issue of Ocean and Coastal Management. In the closing session of the conference, it was unanimously approved that the MEDCOAST conferences be held every two years, in a Mediterranean/Black Sea town, to provide a forum for information exchange among various parties involved in coastal and sea management, and to discuss national experiences and contribute to regional efforts, such as those of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Black Sea Environmental Program. The MEDCOAST International Committee and the MEDCOAST Permanent Secretariat were formed to look after the future conferences. The next conference, MEDCOAST '95, will be held in Spain, to parallel the Meeting of the Contracting Parties of the Mediterranean Action Plan which convened in Barcelona on 5-10 June 1995, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Mediterranean Action Plan which became operational with the Barcelona Convention. The MEDCOAST '95 conference is being organized with the support and sponsorship of all major international organizations having interest