INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
“LET’S SAVE THE MEDITERRANEAN”
TÉLÉCHARGER LE PROGRAMME
MONTPELLIER – Le CORUM 29 SEPTEMBER 2022
Marine plastic pollution, in particular, has increased tenfold since 1980, affecting at least 267 species, including 86% of sea turtles, 44% of seabirds and 43% of marine mammals.
It is estimated that over 10,000 tonnes of waste are dumped in the Mediterranean every year. This sea, almost closed, accounts for less than 1% of the world’s sea surface and yet is subject to almost 7 % of marine plastic pollution.
The Mediterranean, a treasure of biodiversity and one of the regions in the world with most endemic species, is under threat; it is also one of the areas of the Earth which will suffer most from climate change.
The seriousness of the situation is well-known; today, existing solutions must be intensified and promoted.
Organised civil society (Economic and Social Councils of Occitanie, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, grouped within the Euroregion Pyrenees Mediterranean) is holding an international congress to build a joint strategy to fight this pollution.
Sharing the challenges and experiences at the level of the Mediterranean basin, promoting best practices, grouping together to act, lobbying decision-makers… these are the objectives of this event
The 29 September event will revolve around three major topics:
BREAKING – RECYCLING/REUSING – RESTORING
- BREAKING: presentation and exchanges of practices, industrial processes or products to replace the use of plastic;
- RECYCLING – REUSING: how can products be used or waste transformed to avoid using new plastic materials (circular economy, recycling…);
- RESTORING: collection and reuse of sea waste, ecological restoration of degraded environments.
- Around thirty speakers from the whole of the Mediterranean – tourism actors, fishermen, manufacturers, representatives of associations, NGOs, academia, start-ups… – will introduce their actions aimed at reducing the use of plastic:
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- Hoteliers from the Balearic Islands are finding ways of using fewer plastic containers;
- A shipyard in Occitanie is building a ship with bio-sourced materials;
- Fishermen from Tunisia are collecting sea waste and reusing it;
- An initiative to reuse fishing nets is being implemented in Occitanie;
- A university laboratory is studying and quantifying the waste from Mediterranean rivers;
- A research institute is working on the regeneration of Posidonia meadows.
These initiatives and many others will be presented on 29 September. Discover and discuss them with the participants during the session!
A format that enables exchanges between speakers and participants: roundtables, pitch sessions, presence on the stand.
- All the presentations will be available via streaming (https://www.lemondenouveau.fr).
A joint declaration will be launched by the Economic and Social Councils of the Mediterranean committing to INTENSIFYING the fight against pollution and the search for alternative solutions
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