Local authorities from Mediterranean coastal cities are invited to submit their candidacies for the second edition of the “Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award”, that aims to promote sustainable development in Mediterranean coastal towns and cities

The Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award was launched following the 19th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (COP 19) (Athens, Greece, February 2016) that  adopted Decision IG.22/19 “to establish the Environment Friendly City Award to be conferred to Mediterranean Coastal cities, and name it the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award”. The first edition had rewarded the City of Izmir (Turkey) during the high-level session of the 20th Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention which is being held in Tirana, Albania, on 17-20 December 2017.

A sustainable coastal city is “A coastal city in harmony with the sea, utilizing its resources efficiently, equitably and sustainably, reducing its impact on marine and coastal environment and climate change, and managing the environment for the benefit of current and future generations”. An environment friendly city is a coastal city in which people enjoy a high quality of life and where sustainable development takes place within the carrying capacity of healthy ecosystems. 

The objectives of the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award are to: 

• Recognize and reward the efforts of local authorities to improve the environment and quality of life and promote sustainable development in Mediterranean coastal towns and cities;
• Encourage local authorities to move towards a more environment friendly future;
• Enable local authorities to act a role-model to inspire other towns and cities;
• Raise the awareness of the general public regarding the quality of environment and therefore the quality of life in their towns and cities.

Both small towns and metropolitan cities are eligible to apply. It is highly recommended to develop partnerships with NGOs, scientific community, private sector or other stakeholders for the submission. It is expected that the Award will be conferred on the occasion of the 21st Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention (COP 21) to be held in Naples, Italy, 2-5 December 2019. 

The call for application is open from 6 May to 7 June 2019. 

For more information, please visit the following webpage: http://web.unep.org/unepmap/call-applications-second-edition-istanbul-environment-friendly-city-award