Ideas for a Sustainable Mediterranean
The Med Dialogues +2030 is an annual conference series organised and promoted by the European Institute of the Mediterranean, the Barcelona Office of the Club of Rome, and “la Caixa” Foundation, which fosters debate on sustainable development issues in the Mediterranean region.
By giving voice to renowned experts and actors from both shores of the Mediterranean Sea and a variety of backgrounds, the Med Dialogues +2030 seek to raise greater awareness and understanding of the critical sustainability challenges faced by Mediterranean countries.
Launched in 2021 as the region was entering the “Decade of Action”, the Med Dialogues +2030 adopts each year a different approach to the implementation and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), putting forward analyses and recommendations to contribute to building a more resilient, sustainable, prosperous, inclusive, and safer Mediterranean region by 2030.
Edition 2025
The Sea We Share: Voices for a Sustainable Mediterranean Sea
This year, the Med Dialogues +2030 will take a deep dive into Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Life Below Water, which calls for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas, and marine resources. In the Mediterranean context, this means addressing a wide spectrum of urgent issues: marine pollution, overfishing, acidification, ecosystem collapse, and coastal erosion. SDG 14 serves as both a framework and a call to action for rethinking our relationship with the sea that sustains us.
Often regarded as a model of global ocean challenges in miniature, the Mediterranean exemplifies the complex interplay between environmental stress and governance fragmentation. Despite covering less than 1% of the world’s ocean surface, it supports nearly 10% of known marine biodiversity and is bordered by more than 20 countries with diverging economic, political, and ecological realities. This density of pressures and actors makes it a strategic region for advancing marine protection efforts that are locally grounded yet globally relevant.
The vulnerability of the Mediterranean has been recognised for decades. 50 years ago, in 1975, the region’s states adopted the Barcelona Convention under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), leading to the creation of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) — a pioneering model for regional environmental cooperation. While the convention laid the groundwork for coordinated action, the region’s ecological decline underscores the need to accelerate implementation and scale up ambition.
In 2025, the Med Dialogues +2030 will convene a broad range of participants — marine scientists, policy experts, environmental activists, academics, and community leaders — to explore how SDG 14 can be meaningfully advanced in the Mediterranean. Among them, changemakers will share innovative, place-based solutions that are already delivering impact in areas such as sustainable fisheries, marine conservation, blue economy, and ecosystem restoration.
Agenda (PDF)Conducted by a remarkable environmental communication strategist
A conference series moderated by LAURA SECORUN, an environmental communication strategist and founder of Meridian, a creative agency dedicated to ocean conservation.
Secorun spent the first decade of her career working as a foreign correspondent in East Africa and the Middle East for outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian and Newsweek.
After witnessing the humanitarian consequences of climate inaction, she realised the urgent need for more ambitious and effective environmental storytelling. Now she helps ocean advocates around the globe craft communication campaigns that drive change.
