At the invitation of UN Environment/Mediterranean Action Plan-Barcelona Convention Secretariat, representatives of 19 organizations actively involved in marine litter management and assessment around the Mediterranean Sea, gathered for the first time one year ago in Athens, Greece. They decided to establish the open-ended Regional Cooperation Platform on Marine Litter and agreed that collaboration on a number of priority actions for 2017 should be at the forefront of their goals.

This second meeting of the Regional Cooperation Platform to take place 9-10 November 2017, in Barcelona, Spain will review the progress achieved on the implementation of the Regional Plan on Marine Litter Management in the Mediterranean, along with the joint work plan of the Regional Cooperation Platform. It will also explore potential synergies to maximize results and enhance the impact of action on the ground. The Secretariat will present on that occasion the marine litter chapters of the 2017 Mediterranean Quality Status Report. As pollution will be the main focus of the 3rd Session of the UN Environment Assembly and of the 20th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention in December 2017, the Platform will also explore ways and means to contribute and enhance the visibility of our common work on marine litter in the Mediterranean at these two important regional and global events of the United Nations.