M E D C O A S T - A d d r es s i n g  M e d i t e r r a n e a n  P r o b l e m

Recently, Mr. Alan Deidun has attended the MEDCOAST conference in Ravenna, Italy - a conference which he believes bears great relevance for the welfare of Maltese coastal resources.

B a c k g r o u n d  t o  M E D C O A S T
The Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts have, since the earliest of times, been the cradle of a whole myriad of different civilizations. As a result, these very same coasts have bore the brunt of intensive human development and settlements. Nowadays, these two ancient sea crossways are amongst the world's top tourist destinations, with about 100 million tourist arrivals every year the Mediterranean Basin alone, most of whom are enticed by the region's coastal recreational assets. This number is expected to reach 260 million by the year 2025. In addition, some 40% of the indigenous Mediterranean population (roughly 130 million people) lives in the coastal zone; this figure is expected to double by 2025 (UNEP, 1996).

This sobering scenario was one of the catalysts behind the inception of the MEDCOAST entity, which is today celebrating 12 years since its fledgling way back in 1991. In fact, MEDCOAST aims to contribute to coastal and marine conservation in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, through improved coastal management practices. The methodology sought to pursue such goals includes the enhancement of scientific and professional collaboration and networking among individuals and institutes in Mediterranean and Black Sea countries.

Although the MEDCOAST Secretariat is based in Ankara, Turkey, the entity groups under its umbrella a number of other institutions and universities, including the University of Malta, represented by Dr. Anton Micallef from ICOD. In fact, the list of competent entities espoused together in the MEDCOAST entity is impressive and includes Universities hailing from all parts of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, UNEP/MAP (Mediterranean Action Plan), the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and IOI (International Ocean Institute).

M E D C O A S T  A c t i v i t i e s
The highlight of activities carried out by MEDCOAST is the biannual conference, held since 1993. Previous venues for such a conference include Turkey, Spain, Tunisia and even Malta, where the conference was held in 1997 at Qawra. In its 10 years of operations, the entity can boast 16 volumes (comprising over 11,000 pages) of proceedings emanating from its scientific international meetings.

Besides international scientific gatherings, such as conferences and workshops, MEDCOAST also organises regular training programmes on coastal management issues.

The R a v e n n a  7th - 11th  O c t o b e r  C o n f er e n c e
The enchanting Italian city of Ravenna on the Adriatic Sea hosted the latest MEDCOAST conference. Against the backdrop of world-renowned cultural legacies as mosaics, icons, belltowers, cathedrals and other Byzantine paraphernalia, over 300 researchers converged together to provide panaceas through their studies for the ailing Mediterranean coastline. Mingling amongst their midst were also students and stakeholders, such as planners and site managers, whereby vibrant discussions ensued even throughout coffee and lunch breaks. The conference programme was endowed with evocative visits to the River Po delta and to the Comacchio Lagoons, 2 regional national parks. Besides rigorous scientific banter, the conference was also an opportunity for people hailing from different cultures to intermingle as has been done for centuries along this ancient crossroads of a sea.

So as to address the multi-tiered study of the coastal environment, a number of concurrent workshops were organised within the conference context. Topics for these included:

- coastal dunes and their management
- the management of lagoons and of river deltas
- mariculture (including the implications of tuna penning)
- oil transport, pollution and control
- beach management
- the importance of training and education in coastal conservation
- coastal governance
- marine protected areas (in collaboration with WWF Mediterranean Programmer)
- integrated coastal zone management (ICZM)
- geomorphology and coastal erosion control
- water quality management
- the use of remote sensing in conservation efforts

The broadness of the conference's scope is testified through such a variety of interests.

Our country's beacons at the conference in Ravenna were four scientific contributions, which is quite significant in terms of our limited resources. In fact, Malta has a long tradition of proactive collaboration at such conferences, which for us 'bite in tender flesh' as they address the welfare of the Mediterranean Sea. All this buoys the future prospects for Maltese researchers in general by extolling their credentials on the international stage whilst underpinning our country's resolve to actively participate in any initiative aimed at safeguarding the welfare of the Mediterranean Region as a whole.

The scientific contributions presented by Maltese researchers at the conference are the following:

The circumscribed approach at addressing local coastal and marine issues through the nature of work presented at the conference odes well for scientifically-backed conservation efforts of Maltese coastal and marine resources. In addition, the conference provided a useful forum whereby the Maltese reality (which can almost be considered as a microcosm of the entire region, with overdeveloped coastlines and dwindling natural coastal habitats) could be relayed to our neighbours.

The forthcoming MEDCOAST activity is the International Training Program on Integrated Coastal Management in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in Dalyan, Turkey (31st August-14th September 2004) . One only augurs that future marine- and coastal-oriented regional and international meetings are attended to with similar vigour by local exponents. A benchmark currently being aimed at by the MEDCOAST Secretariat is the establishment of the MEDCOAST Foundation, a non-profit scientific & environmental organization.