The slogan of the Presidency highlights the transition towards the implementation of the decisions taken to achieve sustainable development in the Mediterranean and the Green Transition in practice. As a Member Party, Slovenia is working to promote an ecosystem approach to development planning by strengthening the importance of blue and green corridors in spatial planning and management for maintaining coastal and marine biodiversity and ecosystem services. Blue corridors are the aqueous environment where frequent migrations of aquatic organisms are observed. Together with land-related green corridors (preserved natural areas), they provide important provisioning services such as food and water, allow the transport of substances, the migration of aquatic organisms and some human activities in the use of ecosystem services.
The Mediterranean is experiencing a threefold crisis: climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, which negatively affect human health, food production, the economy and development. In the face of increasing maritime traffic, the establishment of new marine protected areas and plans to prevent pollution and manage ballast water and sediment will be given special attention to strengthening both human health and the marine environment.
Slovenia supports the vision of a Blue Mediterranean: a clean and healthy sea, free of plastic waste, with a guarantee of healthy fish stocks, and an innovative environment capable of contributing to a sustainable blue economy.
For development planning, we will present a modern method of promoting blue and green corridors for harmonious management of river basins, coasts and the sea with the aim of improving water, food, energy and climate security. The focus will be on empowering young people to adopt programmes to reduce pressures and shore-based impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems and on measures for adaptation to climate change. In this context, special mention should be made of a new regional programme for agricultural management aimed at reducing the use of pesticides and nutrients, and a new management programme for marine fish farming aimed at reducing pollution, including plastic waste.