Contributing with experiences and positions of the Mission Natural Heritage and MedCities Coastal Cities Working Group

The 2^nd edition of the Mediterranean Green Week took place last week of June bringing together in Brussels aiming to strengthen multilateralism and enhance collaborative dialogue among the 43 UfM Member States, with their key energy, environment, climate, water Focal Points, together with a broad range of stakeholders including funding institutions, local to national governments, civil society and expert organisations including MedCities.

This edition took place in a key moment for Mediterranean policy, with the new Pact for the Mediterranean under development, the celebrations of the 30^th Anniversary of the Mediterranean Process (read here the speech by Mrs Dubravka Suica, the EU Mediterranean Commissioner) and the 50^th Anniversary of the Barcelona Convention, and the unlocking of new financial instruments to underpin green and blue transition in the Mediterranean.

MedCities was represented by the Head of Policy and Knowledge Transfer, who participated in the meeting of the UfM Regional Platform on Environment and Climate Action as a speaker to the panel dedicated to the risks posed by sea level rise. She spoke on behalf of the Dialogue 4 Nature (D4N) Interreg Euro‑Med project, a Union for the Mediterranean-labelled initiative.

During the session, MedCities introduced the Mission 4 Nature—a flagship programme under the Interreg Euro‑MED umbrella—which brings together governance-focused projects, including D4N. She highlighted D4N’s strategic efforts on policymaking, notably the policy recommendations on the EU Nature Restoration Law and target 2 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, launched in early 2025. This document offers a joint position across all the Mission to tackle restoration targets across both land and marine environments in Mediterranean territories. She further stressed the richness of tools and instruments that are being studied, tested and transferred by the 16 projects members of the mission with great potential to upscale and deliver a more resilient mediterranean coastal and marine ecosystem, with a special focus on the project MEDSEARISE which develops a methodology to develop reliable coastal risk assessments at very local level.

It was also the opportunity to share the initiatives in which MedCities is engaged on the topic as the Ocean Cities Network, the Ocean Rise & Resilience Coalition of Cities and Regions and the EU Mission Oceans and Waters, especially through the Mediterranean Lighthouse project BlueMissionMed. The intervention closed with the presentation of the effort done by MedCities Coastal Cities Working Group to align a joint policy position on challenges and needs of local authorities to deliver sustainable and healthy coastal urban ecosystems. 

MedCities underscored the importance of integrated governance and cross-sectoral collaboration to address sea level rise, tying it to coastal resilience, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable urban planning. The intervention illustrated how national legislation, such as the Nature Restoration Law, can be operationalised at city and regional levels, aligning with SDG 11 (“Sustainable Cities and Communities”) and SDG 14 (“Life Below Water”).

By participating in Mediterranean Week Brussels, MedCities reaffirmed its commitment to fostering international cooperation and strengthening policy transfer across its network, turning legal frameworks into tangible actions on the ground.