Euro-Mediterranean seminar on climate change effects in the Mediterranean

Plan Bleu presented the context of Climate negociation in the framework of an Euro-Mediterranean seminar organized in Athens on 31st May 2008, by the Paris 11 University and the Pantheion University of Athens. The seminar gave the opportunity to experts, politicians, journalists and students to exchange on the effects of climate change in the Mediterranean and to discuss a few regional measures to mitigate them (Regional Carbon Facility, funding through a world facility adaptation measures in the Mediterranean countries).

Visit of the NGO Conservation International

On May 29th 2008, Plan Bleu entertained a delegation of the American NGO “Conservation International” comprising Olivier Langrand, Vice President in charge of governmental relations, Claude Gacon, Vice President in charge of Programs and Science, Mathilde Iweins, Senior Manager in charge of relations with France, and Jorgen B. Thomsen, Vice President, Executive Director of Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. The classification of the Mediterranean in hot spot requires the preliminary working out of an ecosystem profile. CI will launch and drive the whole studies needed for these realizations before the end of 2008. After a presentation of Plan Bleu, CI’s team presented its general organization, the core values that fund its actions, as well as its operational modes. A detailed presentation of CEPF has also been done. The work session that followed aimed at identifying the role that Plan Bleu would play in the execution of the Mediterranean ecosystem profile.

International Conference "Confronting fresh water crisis in the Mediterranean Basin. What role for the European Union ?"

Organized in Paris on May 28th and 29th, 2008, with the support of Iddri, Plan Bleu and World Water Council, this conference aims at attracting the general public’s attention to the problems related to fresh water in the Mediterranean basin. <More...>

Veolia Foresight Committee

On May 24th and 25th, 2008, in Delphes, Henri-Luc Thibault was invited by the Veolia Environment Institute (Institut Veolia Environnement) to participate in its Foresight Committee meeting. On this occasion, he presented the Blue Plan’s environment and development outlook in the Mediterranean, the expected trends and projections to 2025 in the water and energy sectors and brought up the climate change impacts in the region.

Meeting of the steering committee of the study "Energy and climate change in the Mediterranean"

Plan Bleu is currently finalizing a study on energy and climate change in the Mediterranean. These works are mainly funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB). On May 20th, 2008, a meeting of the steering committee pertaining to the aforementioned study took place in order to validate the main findings and recommendations to be published in July. The same goes for the report. The members of the steering committee belong to the following institutions: EIB, European Environment Agency, French Ministry of Environment, ENDA Maghreb, Observatoire Méditerranéen de l'Energie, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics.

Visit of students from Erasmus Mundus Eurmed Master’s Degree

On May 14th, 2008, Plan Bleu entertained about twenty students and four professors from Paul Cézanne University (Aix-Marseille III) and belonging to Erasmus Mundus Eurmed Master’s Degree on "Urban Studies in Mediterranean Regions”. The visit gave rise to a general presentation of Plan Bleu and its activities, and also more specific presentations on the following issues: water, cities and urban mobility, energy.

Plan Bleu’s 2008 General Assembly

Plan Bleu’s 2008 General Assembly took place in Paris at AFD (French Development Agency) premises on 6th May, 2008. The members of the Association unanimously approved the moral and financial reports regarding 2007 financial year brought before them. The General Assembly also approved the Activity Report 2007 and elected, as new Member of the Association, Jean-Louis Reiffers, Economist and Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Institut de la Méditerranée.

International workshop "Sustainable agricultural and rural development in the Mediterranean"

About participants from FAO, the World Bank, UNDP, EEA, AFD, la FIPA..., took part in this workshop jointly organized by Plan Bleu, ICAMAS and  IAM (Bari), from 8th to 10th, May, 2008, in the premises of IAM Bari (IT). The works were based on the results issuing from 10 national studies and 4 regional ones, performed in the framework of a partnership between Plan Bleu and ICAMAS and in the context of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development’s follow-up and the publication of Mediterra 2009.

The discussions were very informative and fertile, and confirmed the relevancy of a Mediterranean reflection on these matters and the interest to reposition the agriculture and rural development issues at the top of the political agenda. Likewise, the participants highlighted the need to better define the realities of the Mediterranean agricultural and rural world by examining the incomplete and often fragmented nature of the available data and information. They called for a larger effort in terms of research in connection with the various thematic issues linked with the agriculture and rural development by putting the said topics into a more general problematic concerning territories development as a whole. The implementation of population’s to the working out of territory projects has been considered as an essential step. <More ...>    

Consultation of the World Bank on the next World Development Report

On May 5th-6th, 2008, Plan Bleu participated in a consultation organized by the Marseilles Office of the World Bank (WBI/KNA MENA) on the next World Development Report (WDR 2009). The main topic of this report will be “spatial disparities and development policy”. Organized for the Middle East and North Africa Region, this consultation focused on three thematic issues: urban-rural transformation and the emergence of slums, territorial development and decentralization, regional and global integration. The draft report will be presented to the World Bank Board of Directors in June 2008.

Draft agreement between Veolia Environment Institute and Plan Bleu

On May 5th, 2008, Georges Valentis, General Delegate of Veolia Environment Institute and Henri-Luc Thibault, Plan Bleu’s director, signed a draft agreement set for organizing joint actions in the field of Mediterranean prospective. These works aim at anticipating the main trends and changes related to environment protection and sustainable development and are relevant to interactions between the Mediterranean societies and the environment in particular.