ABSTRACTThe specific problems of the Mediterranean, leading to progressive deterioration of the marine environment as a result of an interplay of climatic, oceanographic and socio‐economic factors requiring cooperative in addition to individual intervention, are briefly described, and areas of concern are identified. Events leading to the adoption of the Mediterranean Action Plan in 1975 by governments of the region, to control the situation, are outlined.The main components of the Action Plan (legal, environmental assessment and environmental management) and institutional and financial framework, together with its gradual evolution from a mainly marine pollution orientated programme into a comprehensive environmental one for the whole of the Mediterranean basin, are described.The Plan's achievements in (i) the progressive reduction of marine pollution at source, (ii) the establishment and enhancement of national pollution monitoring programmes, (iii) the formulation and adoption of common environmental quality criteria and standards, (iv) the creation of alternative scenarios for Mediterranean development, and (v) orientation towards integrated coastal zone planning and management programmes, are discussed, together with technical and political problems in implementation.The role of the Mediterranean Action Plan as a potential model for other regions is appraise