BioMarine, the first world marine and maritime forum

In the framework of BioMarine, the first world marine and maritime forum that was held in Toulon and Marseille from 20 to 24 October 2008, Plan Bleu participated to the debate "The role of maritime transport to the mid-century: Open access, competition and regulation" and to the round-table "the motorways of the sea".

Regional Seminar on Climate Change in the Mediterranean, Marseilles, 22-23 October 2008

The seminar on Climate Change in the Mediterranean, organised by the Blue Plan in Marseilles on 22nd and 23rd October 2008 aims three main objectives:

• Characterise climate change in the Mediterranean for coming years through the works of experts on global scenarios and models, complementing them with regional simulations;
• Identify the major impacts expected on the environment and development in the region and anticipate measures of adaptation to be established;
• In anticipation of the next COPs (Conferences of the Parties) at the Convention on Climate Change in Poznań (2008) and Copenhagen (2009), assess the relevance and benefits of a Mediterranean cooperation on subjects of common interest, which would enable joint objectives and projects to be defined on a regional scale.

High-level OECD Committee meeting on Tourism

Henri-Luc Thibault participated in the High-level OECD Committee meeting on Tourism, that was held in Riva del Garda (Italy), on 9-10 October 2008. He participated in particular to the session  “co-ordination of tourism policies to deal with international challenges” and to the round-table devoted to climate change and energy. This meeting was an opportunity for Plan Bleu to recall the importance of the tourism sector in the Mediterranean, to describe its specific action in the field of prospective and to present the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development and its chapter “tourism”. It was also an occasion to present the works on tourism carried out by Plan Bleu and the different MAP’s centres and to sum up the recommendations issued from the Regional Workshop “Promote sustainable tourism” organized by Plan Bleu in July 2008.

Euro-Mediterranean Energy Forum

Stéphane Quéfelec participated, on behalf of Plan Bleu, to the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Forum, held in Brussels on 7th October 2008. This forum gathered around 90 participants coming from Mediterranean countries, from EU Members states, and from international organizations (World Bank, EIB, etc.). The objective of this expert meeting was to assess the situation of the region in the field of energy referring to the priorities and orientations given during the Euro-Ministerial Conference on Energy, held in Limassol in December 2007.

World Congress for Conservation

Anaï Mangos represented Plan Bleu during the World Congress for Conservation (WCC), organized by IUCN in Barcelona. From 6th to 7th of October, she participated to different presentations and discussions with the objective to better understand the stakes of economic valuation of ecological services provided by marine ecosystem, to confirm the relevance of different methodological approaches in this framework and to present the works undertaken by Plan Bleu on the issue of economic value of goods and services provided by marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean.