MedECC’s present work focuses on producing three Special Reports related to specific challenges identified in the First Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR1):
- Climate and environmental coastal risks
- Climate – water – energy – food – ecosystems (WEFE) nexus
- Environmental change, conflicts, and human migration
These Special Reports are currently in advanced drafting stages and will be released in 2024 (see tasks performed below). The Special Reports are expected to support local, national, and regional policy decisions on the conservation, adaptation and mitigation needs to sustain a good quality of life in the Mediterranean. Each Special Report will include a Summary for Policymakers (SPM) that is a distillation of the main policy-relevant findings from the underlying report. The reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.
Production of the Reports
The Special Reports are developed by the teams of voluntary and independent scientists (Report Coordinators, Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors, and Contributing Authors). The authors do not produce any new research but synthesize and critically assess the present state of scientific, technical and socio-economic knowledge on the topics they cover in relation to the Mediterranean region. The reports assemble new information and thereby update MAR1 and the last reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Review is an essential part of the MedECC process and ensures that the assessment of literature is transparent, objective, and complete. In the first stage of review, the Zero Order Draft goes under internal review. The authors then prepare the First Order Draft of the report and the first draft of the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) that undergoes the review by experts. These expert reviewers self-nominate and are accepted by the MedECC on the basis of relevant expertise. Simultaneoulsy, the draft SPM undergoes the Consultation with governments and stakeholders. Each and every review comment is considered by the authors in the preparation of the Final Draft of the report. During the Plenary discussions on the SPM, involving government representatives and stakeholders, findings reported in the SPM of the three MedECC Special Reports will be discussed sentence by sentence to ensure that the results are communicated in a clear and understandable way.
Outline and Authors of the Special Reports
