All Mediterranean countries still have a long way to go to mainstream green and sustainable development principles into their economies. While some countries have well defined Green Economy/Sustainable Development strategies (such as France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal and Tunisia), they still lack concrete implementation mechanisms, stakeholders’ commitment and systematic follow-up and evaluation. Several countries have not yet developed/published relevant national policies that sufficiently take into account Green Economy, the SDGs or other sustainable development elements and commitments (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Egypt, Palestine, Slovenia, Spain). Dedicating scarce human and financial resources to design such long term strategies may be viewed as disconnected from priorities and realities on the ground that include addressing high unemployment rate, extreme poverty, human rights infringements, high rates of population growth, armed conflicts and terrorism, or corruption. Yet, embracing Green Economy and Sustainable Development is perhaps the only option at hand that could promise a more secure, equitable and prosperous.
Eco-union, MIO-ECSDE, GEC
Read more: Towards a Green Economy in the Mediterranean