Mediterranean Blue Economy Stakeholder Platform (MedBESP)
MedBESP is the regional networking platform for sharing knowledge and information on the sectors and activities of the Mediterranean Sustainable Blue Economy (SBE), supporting the SBE in the Mediterranean and contributing to the development of the Mediterranean Sustainable Blue Economy Community. It is funded by the EU and overall managed by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).
MedBESP is an interactive, user friendly and community-based stakeholder platform. It enables registered users to keep track of the latest news and events in the region, share their work and initiatives in order to disseminate and widen the reach of their activities, extend their network, and build new operational partnerships.
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The platform features a user-friendly dashboard that includes a series of thematic sections related to the UfM Regional Platform on Sustainable Blue Economy, the Blue Economy Framework, the Blue Economy Community, Funding Opportunities, Library and Training resources etc. It also offers a range of additional features, including:
· A search tool allowing users to easily look for projects, stakeholders, partners, experts, initiatives, etc. within a unique Sustainable Blue Economy database.
· An upload system allowing registered users to upload content, news and events related to their sustainable blue economy work and activities (events, publications, training and webinar recordings, etc.). Uploading content to MedBESP is simple and user-friendly. After logging in and submitting news or events, users receive confirmation emails at each stage—submission and publication—while administrators handle review and final presentation.
· A messaging system allowing registered users to interact and exchange knowledge and information.
· A quick onboarding and user guide.
Policy Hubs
Target Groups
Replicability conditions
Following the adoption of the first ever UfM Ministerial Declaration on SBE by the 43 UfM member countries in 2015, the countries of the UfM marked the progress achieved at regional level with the adoption of a new landmark Ministerial, expanding the common mandate to tackle 10 Ministerial Priorities, putting the principles of Sustainable Development at the core, and fully encompassing climate neutrality/climate change, circularity, among other key aspects and principles. Within the 2021 UfM Ministerial Declaration on SBE, Sustainable maritime and coastal tourism is, for the first time, designated as a dedicated/stand-alone priority, working towards more sustainable, circular, and resilient tourism models at Med level, as a central cross-cutting, multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral priority/axis throughout the Ministerial.
Twinning and aligned with the UfM dossier on SBE, Sustainable Tourism is also central to the UfM’s Environment dossier, underpinned by the 2021 UfM Ministerial Declaration on Environment and climate action and by its implementation Roadmap, the so called GreenerMed Agenda 2030. Structured around 3 axis (Supporting the transition towards a Green, Circular and Socially Inclusive Economy, based on sustainable consumption and production practices and nature-based solutions; Preventing and reducing pollution on land, air, and sea; and Protecting, preserving, managing, and restoring natural resources in the Mediterranean region within an integrated ecosystem approach, including terrestrial, marine, and coastal dimensions), Sustainable Tourism is more specifically tackled as priority/pilot action under Axis 1.
In this framework, MedBESP constitutes a valuable hub and repository for all Med SBE stakeholders, including the tourism sector and its value chains, from policy and decision makers to local authorities, research and academia, tourism operators and private sectors actors, civil society, etc.