2023 Mediterranean Quality Status Report

United Nations 2 years ago

Published every 6 years,  the second edition of the MED QSR is the upshot of a collective endeavor involving the Contracting Parties, MAP partners, in particular the scientific community, the Secretariat and the MAP Components. The MED QSR series builds on a robust conceptual foundation and nationally sourced, quality-assured data submitted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention or other reliable sources, to provide an evidence-based intelligible assessment of Good Environmental Status (GES) of the Mediterranean Sea and coast, based on a GES /non-GES approach, as defined in the framework of the ecosystem approach and its Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme IMAP. The 2023 report has been officially approved by UNEP and now is one of the official UNEP reports for 2024. The preparation of the 2023 MED QSR has seen coordinated efforts on data acquisition covering the 9 Ecological Objectives and 23 Common Indicators of IMAP. The report blends national data with patterns observed at the regional level. By distilling new knowledge, the report also contributes to other relevant assessment exercises at global, regional and national levels, and the implementation of respective policies and regulatory framework.  The 2023 MED QSR  is divided into three main chapters, "The Mediterranean Sea" "Assessments of the Quality Status of the Mediterranean Sea" and "Main Actions and Measures to Support the UNEP/MAP Work for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast from 2017 Med QSR."The report is supported by its Executive Summary (approved by COP23 in Portoroz, Slovenia, in December 2023) and the Summary for Policy Makers which was recently developed and approved under the leadership of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention All 3 reports are hosted by a dedicated website developed by INFO/RAC, which is publicly available, to ensure that it can be easily accessible and used by policymakers, experts, the public, young people and scientists and indeed, everyone harboring an interest in the marine and coastal environment in the Mediterranean context. Web site> 2023 MED QSRVideo> 2023 MED QSR  Watch the full video of 23th January 2025
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layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 8 hours ago



A £400m UK government loan to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility tightens the link between embodied carbon and real forest outcomes. Bio‑based and renewable building materials will now be judged on credible, deforestation‑free supply chains as much as on glossy lifecycle assessment or whole life carbon assessment outputs, driving wider use of environmental product declarations (EPDs), green building materials and green building products. Expect stronger traceability, circular construction strategies and end‑of‑life reuse in construction when specifying low embodied carbon materials and low carbon construction materials to cut the carbon footprint of construction and support the circular economy in construction.

Updated damp and mould guidance from the Chartered Institute of Building and the Chartered Institute of Housing reframes indoor environmental quality as a health obligation, pressing social landlords towards whole‑house ventilation, insulation upgrades and continuous monitoring. The shift embeds sustainable building design and energy‑efficient buildings as compliance issues, with implications for life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and net zero whole life carbon pathways recognised by BREEAM and BREEAM v7.

A new retrofit procurement guide uses public spending to expand capacity, create local jobs and tackle skills shortages by baking training and labour targets into contracts. This gives sustainable construction and decarbonising the built environment delivery teeth, promoting life cycle thinking in construction, resource efficiency in construction and eco‑design for buildings, alongside sustainable material specification and low carbon building upgrades that support carbon neutral construction.

Escalating climate risks—from European wildfires to transboundary smoke and cascading Himalayan floods—are accelerating environmental sustainability in construction and sustainable urban development. Design for resilience is becoming core to net zero carbon buildings and green construction, with fire‑hardening, smoke filtration, heat‑safe interiors and green infrastructure specified to reduce the environmental impact of construction, deliver carbon footprint reduction over whole life carbon and strengthen eco‑friendly construction and sustainable architecture.

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