This book has been published by Allenvi (French National Alliance for Environmental Research) to coincide with the 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) in Marrakesh. It is the outcome of work by academic researchers on both sides of the Mediterranean and provides a remarkable scientific review of the mechanisms of climate change and its impacts on the environment, the economy, health and Mediterranean societies. It will also be valuable in developing responses that draw on “scientific evidence” to address the issues of adaptation, resource conservation, solutions and risk prevention. Reflecting the full complexity of the Mediterranean environment, the book is a major scientific contribution to the climate issue, where various scientific considerations converge to break down the boundaries between disciplines.
This book serves the purpose of showcasing some of the works in respect of applied research, field projects, and best practice to foster climate change adaptation across the region. Climate change is having a much greater impact in the Mediterranean than the global average. In the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN member states pledged to stop global warming at well below two degrees, if possible at 1.5 degrees. This mark, which is expected elsewhere only for 2030 to 2050, has already been reached in the region. The situation could worsen in the coming years if the global community does not limit its emissions. The above state of affairs illustrates the need for a better and more holistic understanding of how climate change affects countries in the Mediterranean region on the one hand, but also on the many problems it faces on the other, which prevent adaptation efforts. There is also a perceived need to showcase successful examples of how to duly address and manage the many social, economic, and political problems posed by climate change in the region, in order to replicate and even upscale the successful approaches used. It is against this background that the book "Climate Change in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Region" has been produced. It contains papers prepared by scholars, practitioners, and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing climate change projects, and working across the region.
How did ancient societies change the environment and how do their actions continue to affect us today? In this dramatically revised and expanded second edition of the work entitled Pan’s Travail, J. Donald Hughes examines the environmental history of the classical period and argues that the decline of ancient civilizations resulted in part from their exploitation of the natural world. Focusing on Greece and Rome, as well as areas subject to their influences, Hughes offers a detailed look at the impact of humans and their technologies on the ecology of the Mediterranean basin. Evidence of deforestation in ancient Greece, the remains of Roman aqueducts and mines, and paintings on centuries-old pottery that depict agricultural activities document ancient actions that resulted in detrimental consequences to the environment. Hughes compares the ancient world's environmental problems to other persistent social problems and discusses attitudes toward nature expressed in Greek and Latin literature. In addition to extensive revisions based on the latest research, this new edition includes photographs from Hughes's worldwide excursions, a new chapter on warfare and the environment, and an updated bibliography.
The Mediterranean region contains a diverse and interesting climate ranging from areas with permanent glaciers to areas of subtropical, semiarid regions. The region is potentially sensitive to climate change and its progress has environmental, social, and economic implications within and beyond the region. Produced by the Mediterranean Climate Variability and Predictability Research Networking Project, this book reviews the evolution of the Mediterranean climate over the past two millennia with projections further into the twenty-first century as well as examining in detail various aspects of the Mediterranean region's climate including evolution, atmospheric variables, and oceanic and land elements. Integrated with this, the book also considers the social and economic problems or vulnerabilities associated with the region. Written and reviewed by multiple researchers to ensure a high level of information presented clearly, Mediterranean Climate Variables will be an invaluable source of information for geologists, oceanographers, and anyone interested in learning more about the Mediterranean climate. Written by leading experts in the field Presents clear, compelling, and concise evidence Includes the latest thinking in Mediterranean climate research
In this volume security specialists, peace researchers, environmental scholars, demographers as well as climate, desertification, water, food and urbanisation specialists from the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and North America review security and conflict prevention in the Mediterranean. They also analyse NATO’s Mediterranean security dialogue and offer conceptualisations on security and perceptions of security challenges as seen in North and South. The latter half of the book analyses environmental security and conflicts in the Mediterranean and environmental consequences of World War II, the Gulf War, the Balkan wars and the Middle East conflict. It also examines factors of global environmental change: population growth, climate change, desertification, water scarcity, food and urbanisation issues as well as natural disasters. Furthermore, it draws conceptual conclusions for a fourth phase of research on human and environmental security and peace as well as policy conclusions for cooperation and partnership in the Mediterranean in the 21st century.
This multi-authored book provides an updated description of climate variability in the Mediterranean basin, focusing on decadal and centennial time scales and on the results available on the impact of future emission scenarios at regional scale. The authors describs both local physical processes responsible for these variability - such as changes in the surface properties and land use- and globalprocesses - such as changes in the large scale atmospheric circulation associated to global warming, NAO, tropical monsoon and ENSO. Regional climate change issues are also addressed. Mediterranean Climate Variability aims to review the research on this region and to provide at the same time both an introduction and a reference for researchers. It covers topics typical of Climatology, Climate history, Meteorology, Oceanography, Environmental Science but the information here provided would also be useful for research in agriculture, social and economic studies. It is addressed to scientists and students interested in the Mediterranean climate and environment. Some topics have interesting connections to nearby regions: Northern Atlantic, West Africa, central and Eastern Europe. Each chapter will contain a summary meant to provide information to policy makers, researchers from other fields, and in general to a wide audience without a technical expertise on climate. * Provides an updated analysis of the Mediterranean climate features and guidelines for future research * Considers both oceanographic and atmospheric aspects * Analyzes the Mediterranean climate in a global perspective
The Mediterranean region has more than 25 million hectares of Mediterranean forests and about 50 million hectares of other Mediterranean wooded lands. They make crucial contributions to rural development, poverty alleviation, food security, as well as, the agricultural, water, tourism, and energy sectors. Changes in climate, societies, and lifestyles to create appropriate financial incentives and tools. in the Mediterranean region could have serious negative consequences for forests, with the potential to lead to the loss or diminution of those contributions and to a wide range of economic, social and environmental problems. In the future, Mediterranean forests will support agriculture and human wellbeing. It is therefore crucial to improve policies, practices, and to promote sustainable management to provide social and economic benefits as well as to increase the resilience of ecosystems and societies. This new edition of the State of Mediterranean Forests aims to demonstrate the importance of Mediterranean forests to implementing solutions to tackle global issues such as climate change and population increase. Part 1: The Mediterranean landscape: importance and threats. Despite the important natural capital provided by Mediterranean forests, they are under threats from climate change and population increase and other subsidiary drivers of forest degradation. Part 2: Mediterranean forest-based solutions. Forests and landscape restoration, adaptation of forests and adaptation using forests, climate change mitigation, and conserving biodiversity are additional and complementary approaches to address the drivers of forest degradation to the benefit of populations and the environment. Part 3: Creating an enabling environment to scale up solutions. To scale up and replicate forest-based solutions, there is a need to change the way we see the role of forests in the economy, to put in place relevant policies, more widespread participatory approaches, to recognize the economic value of the goods and services provided by forests and, ultimately, to create appropriate financial incentives and tools.
This book proposes a comprehensive conceptualization of policy integration and negotiates pertinent theoretical, methodological and applied issues from the perspective of selected EU policies - rural development, regional development, transport, social, economic, environmental, water resources, and biodiversity policy.
This volume is an indispensable addition to the multidisciplinary coverage of the science of the Mediterranean Sea. The editors have gathered leading authorities from the fields of Marine Biology, Ecology, paleoclimatology, Chemical and Physical Oceanography, Zoology, Botany, Aquatic Photosynthesis, Socioeconomics, Mariculture, Mediterranean History and Science of Humanity. Beginning with the birth of the Mediterranean Sea and its myths. From coral to fish, an introduction is given to its major inhabitants of plants and animals past and present. The chapters illustrate how organisms interact as part of the structure and function of the Sea's main ecosystems. The rise of the Mediterranean as the cradle of the Western Civilization leads to a discourse on the status of human interaction with the sea. Accelerating global climate change, water warming, ocean acidification and sea level rise, and analyses of their effects on key organisms, entire ecosystems and human socioeconomics are given. Forecasting and predictions are presented taking into account different future scenarios from the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change). The volume is richly illustrated in color, with an extensive bibliography. A valuable addition to the limited literature in the field, offering up-to-date broad coverage merging science and humanities.
As humans we have stewardship over the environment. Man’s dominion does not mean a license to abuse, spoil, squander or destroy. Future cultures will be able to reach their potential only if this generation remembers that sustainable land use is a combination of economics, ecology and social justice. Our ancestors survived due to an innate sense of “oneness” whereby they helped each other. For them everything was “holy”. Sustaining desired ecological, economic, and social conditions in the system is a big challenge, but not an impossible task. This book presents chapters by scientists from different disciplines from the Mediterranean Basin and its environs. It presents updated information and highlights the way forward for the fields of economy, environment and ecology, making this book a very useful source for people working in these different disciplines. Contributions have been prepared by experts in these respective fields. The book also brings to the fore important future tasks for these particular disciplines, and provides up-to-date references, tables and figures illustrating research findings. As such, this volume is a must-read for students, researchers and professionals in environmental sciences, ecology, forestry, geography and other related fields.
