Back

EU neglecting key environmental problems in Mediterranean

Environment Ministers meeting in Cairo fails to tackle major Mediterranean environmental issues

Cairo/Brussels, November 20 2006 - Friends of the Earth Europe criticised the EU today for neglecting major environmental issues in the Mediterranean region. EU Environment Ministers will attend a EuroMediterranean Partnership Ministerial in Cairo today, but key problems such as desertification and the multiple environmental effects of rapid urbanisation in Mediterranean partner countries will not be tackled.

Eugene Clancy, Mediterranean Programme co-ordinator at Friends of the Earth Europe said in Cairo: "South Mediterranean countries are currently undergoing rapid urbanisation. Volumes of urban waste have almost tripled during the past 30 years; air quality is unhealthy and energy use will quadruple by 2025. These issues are currently being neglected by the EU. The EU is also ignoring the burning problem of desertification in Mediterranean partner countries and its impacts on agricultural output and rural livelihoods."

Today's meeting, the third EuroMed Ministerial Conference on Environment, will focus on the programme to tackle pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. Friends of the Earth Europe support this initiative - called Horizon 2020 - but insists that cleaning up the sea is just one aspect of Mediterranean sustainable development.

Friends of the Earth Europe and fellow NGOs have called on the EU's EuroMediterranean Partnership to adopt the UN's Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development as their operational tool to deal with the key environmental issues in the region. The UN strategy deals with acute problems like desertification and urbanisation impacts, but its implementation is currently weak as it lacks the necessary political backing and resources to ensure its success.

Leo Stranius, Friends of the Earth Finland, said from Cairo: "The EuroMediterranean Ministerial Conferences on Environment only take place every few years, so this is a vital opportunity to address all of the environmental problems in the Med. The Finnish EU Council Presidency has a responsibility to take a strong line today."

Cities such as Cairo and Istanbul have undergone rapid population growth in the last 20 years. Traffic growth, old vehicles and predominantly diesel engines result in air quality deterioration. In addition, increased household waste production has lead to the appearance of uncontrolled dumps. These problems affect the daily lives of millions of Mediterraneans.

The scale of desertification in the southern Mediterranean countries is calamitous, with 89% of cultivated land in Morocco affected and 73% in Turkey. [1]

***
For more information, please contact:
Eugene Clancy, Mediterranean Programme co-ordinator at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel: +34 647 089778, in Cairo until November 21st

Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer at Friends of the Earth Europe:
Tel:+32 25 42 61 05, Mobile: +32 485 930515, Email: rosemary.hall@foeeurope.org

Leo Stranius, Friends of the Earth Finland: +358 40 754 73 71, in Cairo until the afternoon of November 20th

NOTES:
[1] A sustainable future for the Mediterranean, G. Benoit & A. Comeau, Blue Plan, 2005

Friends of the Earth Europe campaigns for sustainable and fair societies and for the protection of the environment,
unites more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups
and is part of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International.

Home