Earth Council Alliance delegates including Chairman Tommy Short, Directors Daniel Stauffacher and Louis Leeburg, EC-Italia Directors Giovanni Picone, Fabrizio Erbaggio, and Andrea Zanon, and staff representative Olivia Outhavong attended the 9th Annual Global Civil Society Forum of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) in Monte Carlo, Monaco February 19-22, 2008.

The forum brought together 193 representatives from civil society organizations to focus on the core topic: "Globalization and the Environment: Mobilizing Finance to Meet the Cimate Challenge". ECA delegates participated in dialogue sessions with UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner as well as panel discussions on how best to strengthen the role and voice of civil society organizations within the UNEP community.

EC-Italia delegates vocied their most pressing issue to other civil society organizations- the waste management crisis throughout the Mediterranean, specifically in the Campagnia Region, and shared with the UNEP community information about its ongoing programs to alleviate this devastating challenge.

ECA and EC-Italia look forward to continued collaboration with UNEP to implement solutions to the environmental challenges that face the Mediterranean as well as elsewhere around the globe.