UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Mediterranean Pollution Hot Spots Technical Assistance initiative, which aims to reduce pollution in the Mediterranean marine and coastal environment. As part of the USD 4 million Hot Spots Pollution project, the initiative aims to promote adequate and sound water, wastewater, solid waste, and industrial emissions management in the Southern Mediterranean region, thereby reducing health risks and enhancing access to safe drinking water and sanitation services.
The Mediterranean Basin is one of the most highly valued seas in the world. The region comprises a vast set of coastal and marine ecosystems that deliver valuable benefits to all its 250 million coastal inhabitants. But the Mediterranean Sea is facing multiple pressures caused by human activities, including chemical contamination, eutrophication, pollution by marine litter and over-exploitation. The launch of the Technical Assistance initiative marks progress toward realizing commitments taken at the 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties (COP 22) to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols on regional prevention and pollution reduction measures from wastewater treatment plants.