The ‘Horizon 2020 initiative’ (2007 – 2020) has been a joint effort to substantially reduce pollution in the Mediterranean by tackling the sources that are said to account for 80% of the overall pollution of the Mediterranean Sea: municipal solid waste, urban waste water and industrial pollution.
As a regional flagship initiative of the Union for the Mediterranean, ‘Horizon 2020’ has been a collective endeavour with contributions from a broad set of actors, including UfM partner countries, intergovernmental bodies, international Financial institutions, cities and regions, non-governmental organisations, academia and the private sector.
To meet its objectives, Horizon 2020 was organised in four interrelated components dedicated to investments for pollution reduction and prevention, capacity building, review and monitoring, and research. The first phase of Horizon 2020 (2007-2014) laid the foundations for pollution reduction in the Mediterranean while the second phase of Horizon 2020 was designed to consolidate the achievements of the first phase and go beyond pollution reduction.
Taking note of the lessons learned from Horizon 2020, a follow-up agenda entitled “Towards 2030: agenda for a Greener Med – contributing to achieving the environmental SdGs in the Mediterranean” (2030 GreenerMed) has been under formulation by the UfM since 2018. This new agenda will be dedicated to support the urgently needed transition to a more sustainable, green and circular economy in the Mediterranean.
The Water and Environment Support project (WES) has been instrumental in the compilation of the final Horizon 2020 report and is proud to announce the UfM publication entitled:
“Reaching the 2020 Horizon: 14 years of Mediterranean cooperation on Environment – the H2020 Initiative for a cleaner Mediterranean.” The report focuses on the overall achievements of the H2020 Initiative, challenges, conclusions and recommendations, particularly in view of the UfM’s Environment Agenda (“2030GreenerMed”).
The report is now available here in Arabic, English and French.
