MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE

The participation of Mediterranean NGOs in national programmes to combat desertification and drought.

Land use and sustainable development in the Mediterranean


Murcia, 16th - 18th June  2000

 

Click here to fill in the registration form.

 

Murcia Auditorium and Congress Centre (Spain)
Avenida Primero de Mayo, s/n

INFORMATION:
MED Forum
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 643, 3r - 08010 - Barcelona
Telephone: +34 93 4124309 - Fax: +34 93 4124622
E-mail: medforum@pangea.org
www.medforum.org/murcia

 

The number of places is limited
Working Languages: Spanish, English and French

 
    The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification gives citizen participation a leading role in the fight against desertification and drought. In this sense, NGOs can contribute to the effective participation of local communities and other sectors of civil society, encouraging capacity building of various groups and involving the affected population.
    With the aim of making progress in this direction, MED Forum, Mediterranean NGO Network for Ecology and sustainable Development, is organising this conference, which hopes to achieve the following aims:

• To assess the participation of civil society in combating desertification and drought in countries in the Mediterranean basin;
• To establish recommendations and proposals of NGOs as regards the participation of civil society in combating desertification and drought, aimed at all social groups, governments and all agents affected by the Convention;
• To encourage the exchange of positive participatory experiences among NGOs in the Mediterranean basin.

 
  Preliminary PROGRAMME

Friday, 16 June 2000

9.00 am:
Registration of the participants, accreditation and handing over of documents.

9.30 am:
Opening ceremony.

Interventions:

- Ministry of the Environment (Spain)
- AECI (Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- President of the Region of Murcia
- Secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD)
- Barcelona Convention MAP-MCSD (UNEP)
- President of the Contracting Parties of Annexe IV
- President of Aguas de Murcia (Spain)
- President of Caja de Ahorros de Murcia
- MED Foum

10.30 a.m.:
Land use and sustainable development in the Mediterranean.
Desertification and erosion in the Mediterranean basin.

European Environment Agency

11.00 a.m.:
Break.

11.15 a.m.:
Presentation of Mediterranean Action Programmes

• Evaluation of the application of the CCD in the Mediterranean
• Regional Action Programme to combat desertification (Annexe IV)
• National Programmes to combat desertification (Annexe IV)

1.15 p.m.:
Presentation of the keynote speech: "The participation of Mediterranean NGOs in national programmes to combat desertification and drought".

MED Forum

1.45 p.m.:
Break.

4.00 p.m.:
National programmes: Experiences of participation in combating desertification and drought.
Working groups of NGOs from countries in the south, east and north of the Mediterranean.

 5.45 p.m.:
Break.

6.00 p.m.:
Presentation of the conclusions of the working groups.

Assessment of civil society’s participation in the Regional Action Programmes and National Action Programmes of the CCD. Secretariat of the CCD

Debate.

7.00 p.m.:
Close of the day.

 

Saturday 17 June 2000

10.00 a.m.:
Regional projects to combat desertification and drought.
Exhibition and debate on:

Project of Aguas de Murcia (Spain)
Local projects of Asociación Naturalistas del sudeste (ANSE, Association of Naturalists of the Southeast) Regional project of MED Forum
Programmes related to combating desertification. UNEP-GEF

12.00 pm:
Visit to an area where work is being done to combat desertification and drought.

7.00 pm:
Celebration of World Day to Combat Desertification:

Reading of a "Mediterranean Manifesto for the Mediterranean Day to Combat Desertification and Drought", urging citizens to participate in the annual celebration of this day.

 

Sunday, 18 June 2000

9.00 a.m.:
Debate on the "Proposals and recommendations of NGOs as regards the participation of civil society in combating desertification and drought in the Mediterranean".

11.00 a.m.:
Closing ceremony.

12.00 p.m.:
Meeting of the Representatives of the Contracting Parties and NGOs in Annexe IV countries.