Last meeting of the 2022-2025 term
The prefect of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Georges-François Leclerc, and Vice-Admiral Christophe Lucas, maritime prefect of the Mediterranean,...
In the presence of Célia de Lavergne, director of water and biodiversity at the ministry responsible for ecological transition, the sixth and final plenary session of the 2022-2025 term was held on June 20 in the reception halls of the regional prefecture in Marseille. One week after the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, public and private stakeholders from the French Mediterranean discussed nature restoration, employment and training in maritime careers, and the deployment of offshore wind power. The members unanimously approved the draft update of the Mediterranean maritime facade strategy (2025-2030), currently submitted for public participation online. The State and stakeholders chose to make this strategy more readable and operational. In addition to a vision for 2050, ambitious but achievable targets have been set for 2030, such as the signing of the sustainable cruise charter by 80% of companies operating in French Mediterranean waters, and the development of the three floating wind farms involved in the commercial tenders launched in the Mediterranean. This strategy will be adopted by decree before the end of 2025. The members also issued a favorable opinion on the proposal to label two new strong protection zones: the marine core of the parc national des Calanques on one hand, and the biotope protection zone of the mouth of the Var river on the other. These two files must be transmitted to the minister responsible for ecological transition, who will make the decision on recognizing strong protection. In addition, initial information was shared and discussed among members regarding the upcoming adoption of a national nature restoration plan (following the recently adopted European regulation on this subject) and the launch of the "biodiversity - offshore wind" fund, designed to preserve biodiversity potentially impacted by offshore wind projects. The next meeting of the maritime facade council will be held on Friday, December 19, and will constitute the first meeting of the 2025-2028 term following the establishment of the new Mediterranean maritime facade council. It will allow for the election of the members of the 2025-2028 standing.