Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP)

The Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) is the first regional action plan under the UNEP Regional Seas Programme, established by Mediterranean governments in 1975. Its legal backbone is the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution, signed on 16 February 1976 and in force from 12 February 1978, complemented by seven protocols. The SPA/BD Protocol, adopted in 1995 and in force from 1999, frames biodiversity conservation through Specially Protected Areas and Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs). UNEP/MAP coordinates pollution control, integrated coastal management, and ecosystem-based monitoring across the basin’s 21 contracting parties.