Who are we ?
Faced with increasing plastic pollution in the Mediterranean Sea,
the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation called on the Tara Océan Foundation, Surfrider Foundation Europe and the MAVA Foundation to join forces and launch the Beyond Plastic Med (BeMed) initiative. This initiative was inaugurated at the international conference ‘Plastic in the Mediterranean: beyond the report, what solutions?’, held in Monaco in March 2015.
Having become an independent association in 2019, BeMed is now supported by a wider group, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) joining as an active member.
BeMed maintains very close links with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and continues to be sheltered by it.
Our 3 pillars of action
We finance projects that enable associations and other stakeholders in the field to develop and implement concrete actions that can be replicated throughout the Mediterranean.
We support businesses and local stakeholders in implementing pilot projects focusing on solutions to reduce the use of plastic, by coordinating actions and acting as a catalyst.
Through our Community of Practice and our Business Club, we create a dynamic between the stakeholders to facilitate collective intelligence, the sharing of experience and the replication of good practice.
In a few figures, BeMed is :
million euros committed
projects
supported
supported
organisations
Setting the scene
Plastic pollution at sea is one of the most serious environmental problems affecting the oceans today. Once released into the natural environment, plastic can take up to 500 years to disappear. Every year, more than 10 million tonnes of plastic are released into the ocean. Drifting through water, plastic can strangle or suffocate many animal species. Under the effect of sunlight, it fragments into microplastics that can be ingested by fish and enter the food chain. It is therefore a potential threat to human health. With over 3,000 billion particles of microplastic, the Mediterranean Sea is the most polluted sea in the world.