Agreement Bans Development Along Mediterranean Coast

"Ever since its 21 signatory nations agreed in 1976 to a set of protocols designed to reduce pollution in the Mediterranean, the Barcelona Convention, which holds biennial meetings, has spearheaded a variety of important environmental initiatives. But this year's reunion in Almería, Spain, the group's 15th, has gone further than most. Participants, including environment ministers from Italy, Tunisia, Israel, Croatia, and Montenegro, agreed that along all 29,000 miles of Mediterranean shore, no construction would be permitted on the 100 meters (about 328 feet) of land nearest the water."

"The agreement, which was formally signed on Monday in Madrid, was not the meeting's only significant outcome. Participants also issued the Almería Declaration, which requires all member states to develop a list of threatened marine species by 2011, to establish a 'broad and coherent network' of protected coastal areas by 2012, and to promote renewable energies in the region."

"But it is the shoreline construction ban that will probably have the most immediate impact. Nearly 40 percent of the Mediterranean coast already is cluttered with highways and buildings, and experts believe that figure could climb to 50 percent in the next 20 years."