On the occasion of a press conference on Wednesday, June 11, Plan Bleu presented its objectives for its MED 2050 mission. The former Tunisian Minister of the Environment also spoke to express her vision of development.
“Our goal is to provide Mediterranean countries and the European Union with elements, data, scenarios, studies to help these countries make better decisions.” This is how the press conference organized by Plan Bleu began, on the sidelines of the UNOC. Since its creation, it has been producing scenarios and studies to alert and raise awareness among Mediterranean countries. With the MED 2050 mission, the goal is to achieve a common vision of a sustainable Mediterranean. Plan Bleu took advantage of this press conference to draw lessons from past missions and reiterate future objectives.
Major lessons since the 2005 exercise
The 2005 exercise was chosen as an example to improve the MED 2050 mission. In 2005, there were many theoretical approaches, expert opinions but few tools for multi-stakeholder consultation. For this new mission, everything was confronted from the start. A different approach. To better explore possible futures for the Mediterranean to inform political decision-making. And to ensure nothing is overlooked.
“We were very pessimistic in our 2005 report. We missed two subjects: containerization, notably container losses in the Mediterranean, and the concreting of coastal areas,” was mentioned.
MED 2050: Objectives
Denis Lacroix, Vice-President of Plan Bleu’s Board, outlined the three main objectives of this third exercise, MED 2050. “Firstly, we need to anticipate changes in Mediterranean ecosystems over the next 30 years,” he stated. And determine the conditions for their effective long-term protection. Next, the focus will be on the need to provide useful insights for a gradual transition of the region towards sustainable development. Not forgetting to prevent major crisis or disruption risks, the third objective.
“This third exercise launched in 2019 aims to build a vision and a strategy. We have put the sea back at the center of concerns. It is undeniably important. The key is to avoid points of no return,” concluded Denis Lacroix on this topic.
The words of Leïla Chikhaoui
Former Tunisian Minister of the Environment (between 2021 and 2024), Leïla Chikhaoui spoke to share her vision of development. “I congratulate Plan Bleu, it’s something extremely enlightening. A great research work. As a former official, I can only endorse the most ambitious scenarios” she stated.
Leïla Chikhaoui also highlighted the many improvements that could be implemented to engage all Mediterranean countries. “We are 21 countries around the Mediterranean, we must all be involved. If we do not organize workshops in the countries in parallel, it will be difficult to transpose the best scenarios. It would also be relevant to integrate universities and institutes! They need to be included in discussions to go further, to create this synergy. And there is still no report in Arabic, I think that is crucial,” she explained. This provides countless avenues for Plan Bleu to continue its action, crucial for the coming years.
