Turkey To Host 22Nd Conference Of Contracting Parties To Barcelona Convention

Turkey's resort city of Antalya will host the 22nd Conference of Contracting Parties (COP22), an international Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention).

The conference -- which will take place on Dec. 7-10 -- is held every two years and constitute the principal gathering on environment and sustainable development in the region.

The location was determined during the COP21 meetings in Naples, Italy on Dec. 2-5, 2019.

Environment ministers, representatives of relevant ministries, delegates from 21 countries which have a cost at the Mediterranean Sea, as well as EU and the UN representatives will attend the conference.As part

The cooperation between the riparian states for the protection and sustainable use of the Mediterranean environment is among the main components of the Barcelona Convention.

Convention focusing on pollution in the Mediterranean aims to successfully sustain effective coastal management, biodiversity and sustainable development.

Although the Mediterranean covers one percent of the ocean surface, it is home to more than 17,000 marine species.

The Mediterranean Sea is home to about 18% of the known marine species in the world, and more than 25% of them are in the class of creatures not seen anywhere else in the world.

In 1975, 16 Mediterranean countries and the European Community adopted the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), the first-ever regional seas Program under the UN Environment Program (UNEP)'s umbrella.

Turkey became a party to the convention in 1982.

The Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean was adopted in 1995.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev -