Regional Assessment Of Climate Change In The Mediterranean

Volume 2 of a three-volume final report thoroughly describes, synthesizes and analyzes the results of the four-year Integrated Research Project CIRCE – Climate Change and Impact Research: Mediterranean Environment, funded by the EU 6th Framework Programme. Conducted under the auspices of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Rome, Italy, CIRCE was designed to predict and to quantify the physical impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean, and to assess the most influential consequences for the region’s population. This volume incorporates Parts 3 and 4 of the report, reviewing current knowledge of observed climate variability and trends in the Mediterranean, and including descriptions of available temperature and precipitation station and gridded data sets.

This is the third volume of a three-volume final report, which thoroughly describes, synthesizes and analyzes the results of the four-year Integrated Research Project CIRCE – Climate Change and Impact Research: Mediterranean Environment, funded by the EU 6th Framework Programme. Conducted under the auspices of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Rome, Italy, the study was designed to predict and to quantify the physical impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean, and to assess the most influential consequences for the population of the region.

Volume 1 of a three-volume final report describes, synthesizes and analyzes the results of the four-year Integrated Research Project CIRCE – Climate Change and Impact Research: Mediterranean Environment, funded by the EU 6th Framework Programme. Conducted under the auspices of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Rome, Italy, CIRCE was designed to predict and to quantify the physical impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean, and to assess the most influential consequences for the region’s population. This volume incorporates the first two parts of the report, reviewing current knowledge of observed climate variability and trends in the Mediterranean, and including descriptions of available temperature and precipitation station and gridded data sets.

The First Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR1) prepared by the independent network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change (MedECC) founded in 2015 was published in November 2020. MAR1 assesses the best available scientific knowledge on climate and environmental change and associated risks in the Mediterranean Basin in order to render it accessible to policymakers, stakeholders and citizens. The report has been written by 190 scientists from 25 countries, all contributing in individual capacity and without financial compensation. The report includes a Summary for Policymakers (SPM), which comprises the key messages of the MAR1. The UNEP/MAP – Barcelona Convention Secretariat, through its Plan Bleu Regional Activity Center, and the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean work in partnership to support MedECC, and to contribute to establish a sound and transparent scientific assessment process.

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.

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.

Mohamed Larbi Selassi Deputy Director of the National Meteorology, Morocco Welcome address (translated from French) WMO, WCRP, Medias-France and scientific institutions representatives, ladies and gentlemen, to thank WMO and MEDIAS-France, who have honoured us by I want first organizing the two workshops, climate indices in Africa and data assessment for global change research in the Mediterranean region, in Casablanca and I welcome all of you here in Morocco. It is with great pleasure that I open these two workshops on behalf of myself and on behalf of the Direction of the Meteorologie N ationale of Morocco. Climate change is becoming the focus of the international community because of its global scale and unpredictable effects, the numerous impacts it causes, its global feature and the complexity of the solutions that can mitigate its impacts. Global warming and the greenhouse effect became a subject of study at the international level since the United Nations Conference on the human environment that was held in Stockholm in 1972. The research and coordination efforts that have been made in this area have led to an "International Scientific consensus". High level meetings like those held in Toronto in 1988, in Lahaye in 1989 and in Geneva in 1990, did confirm the greenhouse threat and the emergency to treat it.

This book examines the water-related impacts of climate change in the UNESCO Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean (IBRM) straddling Spain and Morocco. This is the first in-depth publication on a fascinating transboundary case study; while climate change effects are rather homogenous across the IBRM, differing socio-economic contexts, land-use patterns and policy frameworks in Spain and Morocco mean considerable variations in vulnerability and consequences for human security. The authors have produced a novel and integrated vulnerability assessment that combines hydro-ecological, socio-economic and policy analyses. The interdisciplinary approach and insights contained in this volume will appeal both to those interested in the integration of natural and social sciences as well as those working on water and climate change from academic, practical or policy-oriented perspectives.