Annual Institutional Dialogue – Bridging water practice and policy for Mediterranean environmental governance
The 2026 Institutional Dialogue of the Natural Heritage Mission will be held from the 24th to the 25th of November, in Marseille, France (in-person).
Water resilience has become a strategic priority for the Mediterranean region, as climate change, increasing water scarcity and ecosystem degradation place growing pressure on natural resources and societies. At the same time, new policy frameworks, including the European Water Resilience Strategy, the Nature Restoration Regulation, the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD 2026–2035) and the Union for the Mediterranean Water Agenda, offer renewed opportunities to strengthen cooperation and accelerate action across the basin.
Within the above context, this Annual Institutional Dialogue will bring together policymakers, public authorities and Interreg Euro-MED community to discuss water governance challenges and innovative territorial solutions across Mediterranean, national and local governance levels. Building on the draft Natural Heritage Mission policy recommendations on water resilience, the discussions will provide an opportunity to validate, enrich and finalise these recommendations, ensuring they reflect both policy priorities and practical experience from the field.
On the first day, the exchange will aim at identifying common priorities across governance levels, refine the Dialogue4Nature policy recommendations, as well as highlighting opportunities for stronger cooperation between Mediterranean, national and local actors. The second day will be devoted to exchanges within the Natural Heritage Mission’s Community of Practice members.
