Though a small area of the globe the Mediterranean region contributes
to the dynamics of the oceanic conveyor belt, is a source of aerosols and
dust affecting a large area, and influences synoptic scale circulation
systems due to its unique topography and to land-ocean-atmosphere interactions.
Its geographical position, at the boundary between the descending branch
of the Hadley circulation and the Westerlies, is a cause of influence by
the North Atlantic anomalies, which induce a large climate variability.
It is an area of high topographic complexity, in which processes interact
at various scales, and features large gradients of land use intensity and
water availability.This region is very sensitive to, and greatly influenced
by, global climate changes, through effective coupling and teleconnections:
amplified effects due to sensitivity can easily be detected and studied
in a laboratory-like enclosed environment.
The region is also very sensitive to changes in global world economics,
land policy, and demographics, which in combination have considerable control
over sustainable development. Although the Mediterranean Sea links, as
well as separates, different economic and political systems there is shared
concern over many common environmental problems on both sides of the water
which serve as a bridge for Euro-African scientific cooperation. Furthermore,
there is considerable potential for research around the Basin. These outstanding
features make the Mediterranean region an exemplary area for integrated
research into change-related impacts.
The ENRICH/START Workshop on "The Mediterranean and global change", held in Toledo from 25 to 28, September 1996, addressed a wide range of relevant topics, as described further in this issue. The Workshop, in which about 80 scientists from North African and Eastern Mediterranean countries, the European Union and the USA participated, determined a clear set of priorities. These were further consolidated at the European Conference on Desertification held in Crete, Greece, on October 28-30, 1996.
Several of these recommendations are being pursued through on-going projects or new research projects and concerted actions submitted to the Environment and Climate programme of the European Union. The signatories, co-organisers of the Toledo Workshop, have committed themselves to continue their effort toward enhanced regional collaboration on these matters.
Jean-Louis FELLOUS (MEDIAS-FRANCE, Toulouse) - José Manuel
MORENO (Univ. Complutense, Madrid)
See our Mediterranean
Special Report.