Priority Actions Programme/Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC), established in 1977, is a key component of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), itself part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Twenty one Mediterranean countries as well as the European Union make up the MAP, and their common objective is the creation of a healthier Mediterranean environment, resting on the principle of sustainable development. One of six Regional Activity Centres within the MAP, the Centre has built up a global reputation due to its expertise in Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).
PAP/RAC is the people who work in the Centre, as well as the large network of Mediterranean experts and institutions. Still based in Split with the support of the Government of Croatia, PAP/RAC has a core staff of just nine multidisciplinary experts who co-operate with international and national institutions, and with external experts. This could be considered as an asset, since by such recognisability, the work of the Centre is acknowledged everywhere, not only in the Mediterranean.
Mission
The Centre's aim is to address immediate problems of a developmental nature and their effects on the coastal environment and its resources, through practical activities in several fields. The intention is to induce swift results through the use of sound environmental management practices. Importantly, coastal zones comprise not only their marine and terrestrial parts but also their adjacent river basins.
The principal activity of PAP/RAC is Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in the Mediterranean. ICZM is recognised as the way forward for the sustainable development of coastal zones since the 1992 Rio Conference (the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) and is characterised by a distinctive integrated approach to providing solutions to the complex environmental, social, economic and institutional problems of the coastal zones.
The Centre's original mandate was broad in scope but, in the light of the growing environmental challenges, the focus of PAP/RAC's operations was subsequently repositioned to respond to the need for the sustainable development of the Mediterranean's coastal areas.
PAP/RAC delivered its mandate through both local actions within Mediterranean countries, through training and capacity building, and through the macro-scale development of methodologies and policy. In particular, PAP/RAC led the preparation and agreement of the ICZM Protocol that is now the major driving force for ICZM activity in the Mediterranean.
Under its current mandate, approved in 2009, PAP/RAC's mission is to provide assistance to Mediterranean countries in the implementation of Article 4(i) of the Barcelona Convention, meeting their obligations under the ICZM Protocol and implement the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD), 2005, and by carrying out, in particular, the tasks assigned to it in Article 32 of the ICZM Protocol.
Above all, PAP/RAC is active in developing regional co-operation in the field of capacity building and awareness-raising on the importance of preserving coastal areas, mainly through the organisation of international training, education and awareness-raising activities, networking, publications (it publishes research, guidelines, technical reports and manuals) and the dissemination of information. PAP/RAC is also involved in supporting activities of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD).
Finally, PAP/RAC is the international champion for the Mediterranean on coastal issues, and a well-respected organisation globally in developing ICZM-related methodologies and tools.
