In the Mediterranean region, there are longstanding procedures and practices of dialogue and interaction between Science and Policy within robust institutional frameworks established for a better environmental governance and sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems, in particular within the UN Environment/Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) – Barcelona Convention system. Being subject to an increasing number of cumulative pressures and threats associated with human activities that have significant impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems, the Mediterranean basin is both a showcase and a testing ground for environmental governance and for evidence-based policy-making at the regional level.

There is no doubt that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 1982; UNCLOS) is a cornerstone in the process for the codification of international law. It was described as a “constitution for oceans”, “a monumental achievement in the international community”, “the first comprehensive treaty dealing with practically every aspect of the uses and resources of the seas and the oceans”, as well as an instrument that “has successfully accommodated the competing interests of all nations”. However, there is at least one specific matter where the UNCLOS regime was seen as leading to very unsatisfactory results. A new instrument of universal scope was adopted to better address this matter.A new instrument of universal scope was adopted to better address this matter. It is the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (Paris, 2001; CPUCH).

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in September 2015, provide a universal, visionary and transformative framework for sustainable development, ensuring that “no one is left behind”. They introduce an integrated and balanced approach to the process of managing multifaceted economic, environmental and social challenges. They generate, for the first time, contrary to the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015), implementation commitments up to 2030, for both developed and developing countries, tailored to the specific national context and needs.