The Natural Heritage Mission and the Community for Living Areas Mission participated in the second edition of the MED Talks, hosted by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). This online event brought together representatives from across the Mediterranean to discuss progress under the Interreg Euro-MED Programme, focusing on fostering collaboration and ensuring complementarity among the 56 selected projects.

The Natural Heritage Mission contributed to a focused session on ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean. This session underscored the mission’s alignment with the EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) and the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), with particular attention to the implementation of Target 2 “Restore 30% of all degraded ecosystems”.

The mission showcased its ongoing work to bridge policy objectives with practical solutions, reinforcing the value of collaboration across the Mediterranean.

MedCities presented the Mission Policy Recommendations, with inputs from the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (UNEP MAP SPA/RAC) on their transferability and uptake. These recommendations highlighted actionable pathways for achieving restoration goals, focusing on coastal and marine ecosystems. MedCities underscored the importance of connecting governance levels to ensure cohesive restoration strategies. We equally reiterated the hierarchy of action: prioritising non-degradation, followed by passive restoration, and finally active restoration. This structured approach would maximise restoration outcomes while leveraging existing policy frameworks.

This intervention was followed by a presentation of two innovative practices by two thematic projects from the Mission, WE GO COOP and MPA4Change, illustrating how innovative approaches in wetland management and marine protected areas can drive restoration success.

Natural Heritage Mission at MED Talks 2024

The mission showcased its ongoing work to bridge policy objectives with practical solutions, reinforcing the value of collaboration across the Mediterranean. Key discussions revolved around:

• Policy Recommendations: Presented by MedCities and with inputs from the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) on their transferability and uptake, these recommendations highlighted actionable pathways for achieving restoration goals at different governance levels, focusing on coastal and marine ecosystems.
• Innovative Practices: Two Thematic Projects from the Mission, WE GO COOP and MPA4Change, illustrated how innovative approaches in wetland management and marine protected areas can drive restoration success.
• WE GO COOP presented its virtual collaborative platform, which defines a strategy to activate a collaborative governance process around wetland contracts.
• MPA4Change highlighted its toolkits for MPA adaptation action plans, and their #MedAlliance campaign.

Community for Living Areas at MED Talks

The Interreg EURO Med Community for Living Areas was also present at the MED Talks and the presentation was focused on the URWAN project in which Jerash City, a member of MedCities, was a testimony of an associated partner from the project. Jerash has been a taker of results from this thematic project.

URWAN addresses the critical link between urban regeneration and resources, exploiting nature-based solutions’ role in integrating water management and climate change adaptation. The project involves 9 partners from 7 Mediterranean countries, who will jointly implement activities affecting the decision-making process to multiply the impacts of public funds. The partnership capitalises on innovative participatory approaches and existing Nature Based Solutions (NBSs) while demonstrating the importance of making these solutions multifunctional.

The results of the project will be useful for all MedCities members interested in increasing the resilience of climate change through the implementation of NBS; in this case, Jerash underlined that the city will use the results from the project’s outputs to increase knowledge between local administration, and urban planners related to Nature-Based solutions (NBS) for water reuse in urban areas to minimize resource use and maximize benefits to better respond to climate change.

Building on the Foundations of 2023
The first MED Talk, held in December 2023, initiated a much-needed dialogue on sustainable practices between the northern and southern Mediterranean. Building on that success, the 2024 edition expanded the conversation by showcasing tangible progress and emphasising the increasing involvement of non-EU partners, highlighting the region’s commitment to inclusive collaboration.

Key Themes of MED Talks 2024
The 2024 edition explored several critical themes, including:

• Coordination among projects: Enhancing complementarity and cross-fertilisation across the selected Interreg Euro-MED projects.
• Engagement of non-EU partners: Strengthening ties with organisations from the southern Mediterranean to foster mutual learning and innovation.
• Mission-specific achievements: Presenting the progress of the Natural Heritage, Sustainable Tourism, Innovative Sustainable Economy, and Green Living Areas Missions.

A Platform for Regional Cooperation
The MED Talks continue to serve as a cornerstone for fostering dialogue and sharing best practices in the Mediterranean. This year’s discussions underscored the importance of aligning project activities with policy frameworks, bridging the gap between ambition and action. The event highlighted how cross-border cooperation can drive meaningful change by involving actors at all levels—local, national, and regional—.