Fórum Oceano apresenta iniciativa WestMED no Alentejo

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Realizou-se no dia 8 de abril, nas instalações da CCDR Alentejo, uma sessão de apresentação do ponto focal nacional para a iniciativa WestMED, abordando temas e projetos relevantes para a Região.

A ação contou com a participação de representantes da Universidade de Évora, Instituto Politécnico de Beja, MARE, Município de Grândola, ADRAL, CERTIS, EDIA, APS e Sines Tecnopolo, constituindo um momento importante para difundir informação sobre a iniciativa e conhecer os interesses dos stakeholders do Alentejo na matéria.

O encontro teve ainda como objetivo dar a conhecer a sessão de trabalho de Palermo, que decorrerá no dia 14 de maio, intitulada Hackathons WestMED: “Blue economy contribution to the Summit of the Two Shores”. O evento visa reunir stakeholders (empresas, centros de investigação, instituições de ensino, autoridades nacionais e regionais) dos países abrangidos pela iniciativa WestMED, promovendo a troca de conhecimento e ideias para o desenvolvimento de projetos estruturantes.

Está prevista a realização de sessões similares nas regiões de Lisboa e Algarve, durante os meses de abril e maio.

Recorde-se que a Fórum Oceano assegura o ponto focal nacional do Mecanismo de Assistência Técnica à Iniciativa para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável da Economia Azul no Mediterrâneo Ocidental (WestMED).

 

Origem: http://www.forumoceano.pt/p279-forum-oceano-apresenta-iniciativa-westmed-no-alentejo-pt

EPICAH-Interreg WestMed Capitalization Living Labs

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Within the framework of INTERREG IT-FR Marittimo/Maritime, a first and a second session Living Lab have been co-organized in Florence and La Spezia on 22 March, to allow capitalization among stakeholders which are already involved in projects focused on “Sustainable Tourism” and “Conservation, protection and development of natural and cultural resources”.

French National Hub at the Interreg Maritime 4th Call Info Day Italy-France

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The French National hub participated to the Interreg Maritime Italy-France 4th call info day organised in Toulon (France), on 8 March 2019.

Two main axis will be open to submit collaborative projects no later than June 11, 2019 at 6.00 pm. The overall budget is € 13 million.

Axis 1: Promotion of business competitiveness in cross-border priority sectors

Strand 1: Projects for the acquisition of services by new companies 3.4M€

Strand 2: Projects for the acquisition of services by existing companies 5.2 M€

Axis 3: Improve the accessibility of territories and the sustainability of port activities

Strand 1: Projects to create a smart ICT service for the intermodal and cross-border mobility of passenger 2.2M€

Strand 2: Projects aiming at the creation of a cross-border Observatory for air quality monitoring in ports 2.2M€

The priority domains:

  • Boating – shipyard
  • Innovative and sustainable tourism
  • “blue and green” Biotechnologies
  • “blue and green” Renewable energies

The call package is available

Atelier de formation sur la démarche prospective

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La réflexion sur le futur existe depuis des millénaires. Si de nombreux outils sont disponibles, le but est toujours le même : éclairer les conditions de toute décision et estimer ses conséquences. Ce but ambitieux mobilise toutes les ressources de l’intelligence humaine et notamment de nombreuses méthodes, tant quantitatives que qualitatives. La planification spatiale maritime devient un élément-clé des problématiques marines comme le changement climatique ou la croissance bleue durable.

Les 22-28 février 2018 a eu lieu au CNRDPA de Bou-Ismail un atelier de formation sur la démarche prospective dont le contenu a été le suivant :

  • Présenter l’utilité de la veille et de la démarche prospective comme instrument d’anticipation au service de la décision et de l’action.
  • Exposer aux participants comment la prospective peut structurer la veille et indiquer les questionnements nécessaires pour trouver des indicateurs pertinents et les sources suivant les sujets.
  • Permettre aux participants de s’approprier les concepts et les différents outils mis en œuvre dans la méthode des scénarios pour s’approprier concrètement la démarche au travers d’un exercice pratique.
  • Rendre compte des méthodes et des outils de veille, d’intelligence stratégique et de prospective permettant de détecter des signaux faibles et des ruptures ou des changements de tendances.
  • Expliquer comment utiliser les scénarios pour élaborer une stratégie.

Kick-off meeting in Rome

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On Monday 25 February​ the kick-off meeting with the WestMED Italian National Hub was held in Rome, at the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hosted by the WestMED National Coordinators for Italy, notably the Department of Cohesion within the Italian Presidency of Ministers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting gathered about 40 organisations amongst Regional Authorities, National Ministries and other relevant stakeholders for the Blue Economy in Italy.

 

The kick-off meeting was aimed to introduce the WestMed Assistance Mechanism (WMAM), its goals, functions and role, so to initiate a dialogue for the identification of the national priorities for strategic projects to be supported by the initiative. After an overview of the activities implemented, the project ideas identified in Algiers, as well as the many areas currently being “work in progress”, the National Hub shared a calendar of possible events identified as a basis for the national Road-Show, and discussed the next steps foreseen for the governance of the initiative at national level.

Upon a very large mailing and recall action, 42 organizations, among Italian ministries, regional governments, public and private stakeholders, managing authorities, local contact points of EU funding programmes, IFIs’ managers perceived the importance of such an inclusive process, giving their contribution to the discussion and underlining their appreciation of the initiative.

It was the first step towards a more integrated process to improve the access to EU funding opportunities, through orientation of suitable stakeholders towards partnerships, the issue of thematic tables as an auxiliary tool to increase the best matching between skills/experiences and project proposals/ideas, the reduction of redundant and inefficient practices, to create the basis for a qualified participation of proper stakeholders to the relevant thematic events, etc.

Stakeholders involved expressed their appreciation of the work done so far, and those involved in the Algiers Stakeholders Conference confirmed the relevance of the initiative as a platform to share concrete project ideas. The Managing Authority for the ENI CBC Programme also expressed gratitude for the support given in expanding the partner countries as part of the Algiers Stakeholders Workshop. In exchange with participants, a series of follow-up actions have been identified, including the set-up of possible thematic groups charged with providing strategic advice to the National hub. Further activities will be published on the Linked-in page and the Italian section of the WMAM website.

More than 100 stakeholders at the WestMED Workshop Agadir

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A WestMED workshop was held at the Salon Halieutis, in the 22th February 2019. It was attended by more than a hundred persons coming from private and public sectors, fishermen, fishery Department, students, and other blue economy stakeholders. The event aimed to promote and to present the WestMed Initiative and its implementation in Morocco.

The opening of the workshop was conducted by Mr. Yassine el Arroussi, representing the Moroccan Fishery Department. He welcomed the participants and thanked the EU Delegation in Morocco and the National Hub of France, for their participation in the workshop. He mentioned the major objectives of the Westmed initiative and recalled that it represents a part of the Moroccan blue economy strategy, initiated by the blue belt Initiative launched by Morocco during the COP22 of the Climate Change.

Mr. Didier Nils, head of the Cooperation section, Delegation of the European Union in Morocco, explained that the WestMED Initiative is a large scale program and that the EU in general as well as its Delegation in Rabat are fully supporting this Initiative. He also recalled the strengths of the region in the blue economy sector and the challenges facing the development of the region. He encouraged to benefit from all available funds.

Mr. Aomar Bourhim, Moroccan WestMed coordinator, recalled that the workshop is part of a series of workshops that were already held to promote WestMed Initiative in Morocco. He also presented the countries and the partners involved in the Initiative. In his speech, he also evoked the context and the history of the initiative and its importance for the sustainable development.

Mr. Mohammed Malouli Idrissi, Moroccan National Hub, recalled the priorities for action adopted according the Algiers Declaration, the priority actions for Morocco and the objectives of the Initiative and their related goals. He also drew up the roles and objectives of the assistance mechanism, in particular the National Hub. And finally, he presented a list of possible funds.

Mr. Herpers, French National Hub, clarified that the WestMED Initiative is part of a pro-active cooperation logic that aims to support the development of the blue economy. He explained the organization of the Assistance Mechanism, the National Hubs mission, and enounced that the steering committee is now studying the feasibility of labeling projects related to the Initiative priorities to support them while applying in European calls. He mentioned the project ideas that followed the lab activities in Algiers conference.

At the end of the event, the participants asked some questions about future projects and the possibility of integrating these projects. Explanations were given by the panelists.

Besides the organization of the workshop, the assistance mechanism was, since the beginning of Halieutis Salon present and continuously active at the EU Delegation stand, in order to promote the Initiative and the opportunities it provides. As a result, Mr. Ayman Jghab, Moroccan National Hub assistant, conducted more than twenty meeting with professionals, entrepreneurs, public institutions representatives, and blue economy stakeholders.

The Malta National Hub meets Maltese stakeholders

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During the BlueInvest Conference held in Malta on 28 January 2019, the National Hub set up around 10 meetings. These included meetings with national stakeholders, such as the Malta Council for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), the Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University of Malta, NinajMoba Ltd and the University Maritime Platform as well as meetings with stakeholders from other western Mediterranean countries, such as the International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) and Liguria Ricerche S.p.A..

Launch of a new initiative on Maritime Spatial Planning

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UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the European Commission will launch, MSPGlobal, a new global project on maritime spatial planning, on 11 and 12 February at UNESCO Headquarters. The project aims to promote better maritime spatial planning with a view to avoiding conflicts and improving the governance of human activities at sea such as aquaculture, tourism, marine energy, and exploitation of the seabed.

The launch conference will bring together experts, political decision-makers and stakeholders, providing them with an opportunity to take stock of existing experiences in maritime spatial planning and discuss the challenges they raise, notably with regard to cross-border cooperation.

The three-year MSPglobal project aims to develop international guidelines on maritime spatial planning and regulate activities in coastal and marine waters, which have grown significantly in recent decades.

Two pilot projects will be implemented under MSPglobal to create a repository of data, knowledge, policies and decision-making tools for maritime spatial planning. Their objective is also to strengthen local authorities’ data management capacities. The first pilot project will be deployed in the Western Mediterranean (Algeria, France, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia), the second in the Southeast Pacific with a specific cross-border exercise in the historic bay of Guayaquil (Ecuador and Peru). Parallel training activities will also be organized with experts from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Libya, Mauritania, Panama, Peru and Portugal.

The MSPglobal project, combined with the implementation of the nine actions of the Joint Roadmap published by the IOC and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in 2017, aims to treble the area of territorial waters covered by a maritime spatial planning system by 2030.

The event will be broadcast live: http://webcast.unesco.org/live/room-04/en

Source: https://en.unesco.org/news/launch-new-initiative-maritime-spatial-planning

First call for proposals: 41 projects approved for funding

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During its last meeting which took place for the very first time in Cairo (Egypt) on 29-30 January 2019, the Joint Monitoring Committee (decision-making body of the ENI CBC Med Programme composed of the representatives of 13 participating countries) approved a list of 41 projects recommended for funding by the Projects Selection Committee.

Based on the quality of the proposals assessed, the Joint Monitoring Committee has decided to increase the budget of the call, within the 20% limit set by the EU rules, and finance more projects. Overall, the value of the 41 approved projects is €110 million, of which €100 million of EU contribution. The initial EU contribution to the call was €84,6 million.

More projects lead by organizations from Mediterranean Partner Countries

One the key outcomes of this first call is the substantial increase of projects leaded by organizations from Mediterranean Partner Countries (8 in a single call against 6 during the whole 2007-2013 period): this positive trend highlights a growing ownership of the ENI CBC Med Programme by all 13 participating countries.

Out of 282 organizations involved in the approved projects, 61% are established in Mediterranean Partner Countries.

Special attention to young people and women

Based on the 11 thematic priorities addressed by the call, the 41 approved will implement concerted actions which reflect the most relevant challenges and needs of the 13 participating countries (Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia) in the fields of business development, innovation, social inclusion and fight against poverty as well as environmental sustainability.

Consistently with the objectives of the Programme, the approved projects pay special attention to young people and women in order to foster their participation in community and economic life through actions supporting the access to the job market and the development of professional skills.

Next steps

All 92 applicants involved in the second step of the call for proposals will receive a letter of the Managing Authority containing the results of the evaluation.

Selected beneficiaries will soon start the process towards the signing of the grant contract with the Managing Authority, allowing to start the implementation of the planned activities.

First call for proposals: list of approved projects (01.02.2019)

 

Source: http://www.enpicbcmed.eu/communication/first-call-proposals-41-projects-approved-funding

Source image: https://www.euneighbours.eu/en/south/stay-informed/news/mediterranean-sea-basin-programme-first-call-proposals-41-projects

Le Comité National de l’Economie Bleue (CNEB) s’installe

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Le 04 février 2019, s’est tenue au siège de la Direction Générale de la Pêche et de l’Aquaculture (DGPA), la réunion d’installation du Comité National de l’Economie Bleue (CNEB). Le CNEB Se compose de représentants des représentants des Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Ministère de la Défense Nationale (Commandement des Forces Navales), de l’Agriculture, du Développement Rural et de la Pêche (Direction Générale de la Pêche et de l’Aquaculture) des Travaux Publics et des Transports (Direction de la Marine Marchande et des Ports), de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique (Direction Générale de la Recherche Scientifique et du Développement technologique), du Tourisme et de l’Artisanat, de l’Industrie et des Mines, de l’Environnement et des Energies Renouvelables, de l’Energie et du Ministère des Postes, de la Télécommunication et des Technologies du Numérique.

Le coordinateur national et le Hub national sur l’économie bleue de l’initiative WestMED ont été officiellement présentés. Les principales attentes vis à vis de la CNEB qui a un rôle à jouer dans le processus WestMED  en cours, mais plus globalement pour les questions relatives à l’économie bleue en Algérie ont été discutées, notamment :

  • Le suivi de la mise en œuvre de la feuille de route « WestMED » en Algérie.
  • L’évaluation, à travers un jeu d’indicateurs, le processus national de développement de l’économie bleue.
  • La contribution à la validation des documents de planification de l’économie bleue et à la communication institutionnelle autour du concept de l’économie bleue.
  • La participation à l’identification et au montage de « consortiums » avec des partenaires de la Méditerranée Occidentale en vue de répondre à des appels à projets relatifs à l’économie bleue.

Il été également rappelé les éléments suivants :

  • Le processus engagé après les deux conférences sur l’économie bleue tenues à Alger les 3-4 décembre 2019 ainsi que des cadres et les opportunités des financements de projets. Les principaux outputs de cette conférence ont été mis en évidence, en particulier,
    • (1) l’identification de 31 projets qui devront faire l’objet d’une analyse en vue de sélectionner les plus « bancables » d’entre eux auprès des bailleurs de fonds.
    • (2) l’identification des sources de financement dans les programmes pouvant soutenir la mise en œuvre de ces projets.
    • (3) l’engagement d’un dialogue entre les parties prenantes des pays en vue de créer des consortiums nord-sud en Méditerranée occidentale.
  • L’importance de travailler sur les idées de projets identifiées lors des laboratoires de la conférence des parties prenantes.
  • La présentation de l’étude d’évaluation du potentiel en économie bleue dans les pays du sud de la Méditerranée.
  • Présentation succincte des quatre premières opérations menées après la conférence des parties prenantes de décembre 2018, notamment la participation à trois consortiums dans le cadre de l’appel à projet de 2018. Les trois projets portent sur les compétences bleues, la résilience des aires marines protégées face aux changements climatiques ainsi que l’écotourisme.