SCIENTIFIC NEWS

A preliminary assessment of risk associated to climate and environmental changes in the Mediterranean region by the MedECC network in collaboration with decision-makers Keywords: climate change, Mediterranean Basin, science-policy interface…

Final Report. Regional analysis of the (I)NDCs in the SEMed Region (report). Authors: Jaime D. Fernandez M. and Ashanapuri HertaDownload the report EXECUTIVE SUMMARYAs part of the Paris climate agreement,…

Markantonis, V., Reynaud, A., Karabulut, A., El Hajj, R., Altinbilek, D., Awad, I., Brugemann, A., Constantianos, V., Mysiak, J., Lamaddalena, N., Matoussi, M., Monteiro, H., Pistocchi, A., Pretato, U., Tahboub,…

The IPCC approved and accepted Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate at its 51st Session held on 20 – 23 September 2019. The approved Summary for Policymakers (SPM)…

Hoegh-Guldberg O., Jacob D., Taylor M., Guillén Bolaños T., Bindi M., Brown S., Camilloni I.A., Diedhiou A., Djalante R., Ebi K., Engelbrecht F., Guiot J., Hijioka Y., Mehrotra S., Hope…

Schleussner C.F., Deryng D., D’haen S., Hare W., Lissner T., Ly M., Nauels A., Noblet M., Pfleiderer P., Pringle P., Rokitzki M., Saeed F., Schaeffer M., Serdeczny O., Thomas A. (2018) 1.5°C Hotspots: Climate Hazards, Vulnerabilities, and Impacts. Annual Review of Environment…

Varela, MR, Patrício, AR, Anderson, K, et al. Assessing climate change associated sea-level rise impacts on sea turtle nesting beaches using drones, photogrammetry and a novel GPS system. Glob Change…

Garnier, J., Le Noë, J., Marescaux, A., Sanz-Cobena, A., Lassaletta, L., Silvestre, M., Thieu, V., Billen, G., 2019. 
Long-term changes in greenhouse gas emissions from French agriculture and livestock (1852–2014):…

A series of EDA Insights, New Governance for the Environment in the Arab Region has been recently launched. The series explores ways for governments and other regional stakeholders to support…

Yang, C., Fraga, H., van Ieperen, W., Trindade, H., Santos, J.A. 2019. Effects of climate change and 
adaptation options on winter wheat yield under rainfed Mediterranean conditions in southern Portugal.…

The IPCC approved and accepted Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems at…

This report – the first ever inter-governmental global assessment on biodiversity – has been prepared by 150 leading experts from 50 countries, with backgrounds from natural and social sciences and…

Negev, M., Teschner, N., Rosenthal, A., Levine, H., Lew-Levy, C., & Davidovitch, N. (2019). Adaptation of 
health systems to climate-related migration in Sub-Saharan Africa: Closing the gap. International Journal of…

Pereira C. S., Lopes I., Abrantes I., Sousa J. P., Chelinho S., 2019. Salinization effects on coastal ecosystems: 
a terrestrial model ecosystem approach. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci.…

Fernández-Montblanc, T., Vousdoukas, M.I., Ciavola, P., Voukouvalas, E., Mentaschi, L., Breyiannis, G., 
Feyen, L., Salamon, P., 2019. Towards robust pan-European storm surge forecasting. Ocean Model. 133,129–144. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2018.12.001 Highlights A surge-tidal,…

Among other highlights, this edition finds that: More than 820 million people in the world were still hungry in 2018, underscoring the immense challenge of achieving the Zero Hunger target…

Grillakis, M.G., 2019. Increase in severe and extreme soil moisture droughts for Europe under climate 
 Sci. Total Environ. doi:10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.01.001 Highlights This study found indications about reduction in future soil…

The Summit of the Two Shores (“Sommet de 2 Rives”) is an Initiative of the French Republic to strengthen ties between the two shores of the Mediterranean.  It was held…

“Atlas of Ecosystem Services. Drivers, Risks, and Societal Responses” Editors: Schröter, M., Bonn, A., Klotz, S., Seppelt, R., Baessler, C. (Eds.) This book aims to identify, present and discuss key driving…

Koubi V (2019) Climate change and conflict. Annual Review of Political Science, 22, 343-360, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-070830 Abstract The link between climate change and conflict has been discussed intensively in academic literature during the…

Vousdoukas MI, Mentaschi L, Voukouvalas E, Bianchi A, Dottori F, Feyen L (2018) Climatic and 
socioeconomic controls of future coastal flood risk in Europe. Nature Climate Change, 8, 776–780,
 doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0260-4 Abstract…

Sumaila UR, Tai TC, Lam VWY, et al. (2019) Benefits of the Paris Agreement to ocean life, economies, and 
 people, Sci. Adv., 5, 2, eaau3855. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aau3855 Abstract The…

The Regional Initiative for the Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources and Socio-Economic Vulnerability in the Arab Region (RICCAR) is the outcome of the first Arab Ministerial Declaration…

Morán-Ordóñez A, Roces-Díaz JV, Otsu K, Ameztegui A, Coll L, Lefevre F, Retana J, Brotons L (2019)
 The use of scenarios and models to evaluate the future of nature values…

Koutroulis AG (2019) Dryland changes under different levels of global warming. Sci. Total Environ., 655, 
482–511. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.11.215 Highlights Dryland areas are vital ecosystems, highly sensitive to climatic changes. New higher…

Balzan MV, Pinheiro AM, Mascarenhas A, Morán-Ordóñez A, Ruiz-Frau A, Carvalho-Santos C, 
Vogiatzakis I, Arends J, Santana-Garcon J, Roces-Díaz JV, Brotons L, Campagne CS, Roche P, de 
Miguel S, Targetti…

Rilov G, Mazaris AD, Stelzenmüller V, Helmuth B, Wahl M, Guy-Haim T, Mieszkowska N,  Ledoux J-B, Katsanevakis S (2019) Adaptive marine conservation planning in the face of climate change: What can we…

Roy H et al. (2019) Developing a list of invasive alien species likely to threaten biodiversity and ecosystems in 
the European Union. Global Change Biology, 25, 1032-1048. Abstract The European…

Santillán D, Iglesias A, La Jeunesse I, Garrote L, Sotes V (2019) Vineyards in transition: A global assessment of the adaptation needs of grape producing regions under climate change, Science of…

The 2018 Global Nutrition Report shares insights into the current state of global nutrition, highlighting the unacceptably high burden of malnutrition in the world. It identifies areas where progress has…

Report from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Download the report Background This report presents the first global assessment of biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA). It complements other…

Jorge Borrego, Premier Secrétaire Général adjoint de l’Union pour la Méditerranée, chargé de l’énergie et l’action pour le climat, nous livre ici les tenants et les aboutissants d’un développement durable…

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has core focus on food security and nutrition. Eradicating hunger and malnutrition has been recognized as a complex phenomenon, with different manifestations depending on…

Rojas M, Lambert F, Ramirez-Villegas J, Challinor A (2019) Emergence of robust precipitation changes across crop production areas in the 21st century. PNAS, http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811463116 Significance Using 21st century climate model projections we…

Vilà-Cabrera A, Coll L, Martínez-Vilalta J, Retana J (2018) Forest management for adaptation to climate change in the Mediterranean basin: A synthesis of evidence, Forest Ecology and Management, 407, 16-22, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.10.021 Highlights Forest management in the Mediterranean…

Caroselli E, Gizzi F, Prada F, Marchini C, Airi V, Kaandorp J, Falini G, Dubinsky Z, Goffredo S (2018) Low and variable pH decreases recruitment efficiency in populations of a…

Rolo V, Moreno G (2019) Shrub encroachment and climate change increase the exposure to drought of Mediterranean wood-pastures. Science of The Total Environment, 660, 550-558, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.029 Highlights Mediterranean wood-pastures are threatened by shrub encroachment…

Editors: Clayton Campanhola Shivaji Pandey Description Sustainable Food and Agriculture: An Integrated Approach is the first book to look at the imminent threats to sustainable food security through a cross-sectoral…

“Human and Environmental Security in the Era of Global Risks- Perspectives from Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands” Behnassi M., Gupta H., Pollmann O. (Eds.) © Springer 2019 “Climate Change, Food Security…

Using Altmetric (an organisation that scores and ranks papers according to the attention they receive) data for 2018, Carbon Brief has compiled its annual list of the 25 most talked-about…

Jones E, Qadir M, van Vliet MTH, Smakhtin V, Kang SM (2019) The state of desalination and brine production: A global outlook. Science of The Total Environment, 657, 1343-1356 HIGHLIGHTS Unconventional water resources are key to support…

“Each degree matters, each year matters, and each decision matters: not acting today is adding to the burden of the next generations […]. Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is not…

Carranza-Gallego G, Guzmán GI, García-Ruíz R, González de Molina M, Aguilera E (2018) Contribution of old wheat varieties to climate change mitigation under contrasting managements and rainfed Mediterranean conditions. Journal of Clearer Production, 195, 111-121, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.05.188…

The regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Europe and Central Asia identifies a mix of governance options, policies and management practices that are currently available to reduce…

Recanati F, Maughan C, Pedrotti M, Dembska K, Antonelli M (2019) Assessing the role of CAP for more sustainable and healthier food systems in Europe: A literature review. Science of The…

Mediterranean forest area on the rise but increasingly in jeopardy climate change, wildfires and water scarcity drive forest degradation. The Mediterranean forest area has increased by two percent between 2010…

Raymond F, Drobinski F, Ullmann Albin, Camberlin P (2018) Extreme dry spells over the Mediterranean Basin during the wet season: Assessment of HyMeX/Med-CORDEX regional climate simulations (1979–2009). Int. J. Climatol.,…

Several articles on climate change and health have recently been published: Rohat G, Flacke J, Dosio A, Pedde S, Dao H, van Maarseveen M (2019) Influence of changes in socioeconomic and…

Mathbout S, Lopez-Bustins JA, Martin-Vide J, Bech J, Rodrigo FS (2018) Spatial and temporal analysis of drought variability at several time scales in Syria during 1961–2012. Atmospheric Research. 200,153-168  ABSTRACT This…

At a Glance Only 19 of the 52 glaciers that were in the Pyrenees in 1850 are gone, most since 1980. In Spain, only a handful of glaciers remain, with Monte Perdido…

Tramblay Y, Somot S (2018) Future evolution of extreme precipitation in the Mediterranean. Climatic Change, 151, 2, 289–302 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2300-5 ABSTRACT Mediterranean basins can be impacted by severe floods caused by extreme rainfall, and…

Andivia E, Zuccarini P, Grau B, de Herralde F, Villar-Salvador P, Savé R (2018) Rooting big and deep rapidly: the ecological roots of pine species distribution in southern Europe. Trees. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-018-1777-x…

Accelerating environmental changes in the Mediterranean Basin cause increasing risks to people and nature: a new synthesis Recent climate change has stronger impacts on the Mediterranean Basin than before, causing…

Turco M, Rosa-Cánovas JJ, Bedia J, Jerez S, Montávez JP,  Llasat MC, Provenzale A (2018) Exacerbated fires in Mediterranean Europe due to anthropogenic warming projected with non-stationary climate-fire models. Nature…

The impacts of climate change at 1.5C, 2C and beyond (CarbonBrief) Carbon Brief has extracted data from around 70 peer-reviewed climate studies to show how global warming is projected to…

Reimann L, Vafeidis AT, Brown S, Hinkel J, Tol RSJ (2018) Mediterranean UNESCO World Heritage at risk from coastal flooding and erosion due to sea-level rise. Nature Communications,  9,  4161, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06645-9 Abstract UNESCO World Heritage…

On World Food Day, WWF warns against the dramatic impact of overfished oceans on people around the globe. Currently, 33 percent of fish stocks are overfished (in the Mediterranean it…

Hamidov A, Helming K, Bellocchi G, Bojar W, Dalgaard T, Ghaley BB, … Schönhart M (2018) Impacts of climate change adaptation options on soil functions: A review of European case-studies. Land Degradation…

Global Warming of 1.5 °C An IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the…

Soils provide numerous essential services in terrestrial ecosystems, ranging from the support of plant growth in agriculture and forestry to moderation of flood risks, water purification, large-scale carbon storage, and…

ESPON CLIMATE – Climate Change and Territorial Effects on Regions and Local Economies in Europe The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been pivotal in raising awareness on the…

The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) report : Lewis, P., Abdel Monem, M. A. and Impiglia, A. (2018) Impacts of climate change on farming systems and livelihoods in…

Bruno JF, Bates AE, Cacciapaglia C, Pike EP, Amstrup SC, van Hooidonk R, Henson SA, Aronson RB (2018) Climate change threatens the world’s marine protected areas. Nature Climate Change, vol. 8, 499–503. Abstract Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a primary management tool…

This latest Breakthrough report argues for an urgent risk reframing of climate research and the IPCC reports. What Lies Beneath is the inside story of how climate policy-making has become embedded…

Report entitled “Climate Change Adaptation in the Arab States: Best Practices and Lessons Learned” has been published by UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and GEF (Global Environment Facility) in July…

Temperature Anomalies by Country 1880-2017 based on NASA GISTEMP data, Climate Reality  

Kapsenberg, L., Alliouane, S., Gazeau, F., Mousseau, L. & Gattuso, J.-P. Coastal ocean acidification and increasing total alkalinity in the northwestern Mediterranean (2017) Sea. Ocean Sci. 13, 411-426. Abstract Coastal…

Achebak H, Devolder D, Ballester J (2018) Heat-related mortality trends under recent climate warming in Spain: A 36-year observational study. PLoS Med 15(7): e1002617. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.100261 Download press release. Abstract Background Anthropogenic greenhouse gas…

Chefaoui, R. M., Duarte, C. M. and Serrão, E. A. (2018), Dramatic loss of seagrass habitat under projected climate change in the Mediterranean Sea. Glob Change Biol. Accepted Author Manuscript.…

Ramírez F, Rodríguez C, Seoane J, Figuerola J, Bustamante J (2018) How will climate change affect endangered Mediterranean waterbirds? PLoS ONE 13(2): e0192702. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192702 Abstract Global warming and direct anthropogenic…

Source: FAO press release 10 July 2018, Rome New analysis and modelling released today by FAO and more than 100 collaborating scientists projects that by 2050 climate change will have…

Hinkel J, Aerts J, Brown S et al. (2018) The ability of societies to adapt to twenty-first-century sea-level rise. Nature Climate Change, 8, 570–578 Abstract Against the background of potentially substantial sea-level rise, one important question…

Proposed science institute will focus on the Mediterranean and Middle East, regions that will be hard hit by global warming. Nature News, 27 June 2018 Anita Makri The tiny island…

  This report, coordinated by Stéphane Pouffary (ENERGIES 2050), Guillaume de Laboulaye (ENERGIES 2050) and Constantin Tsakas (Institut de la Méditerranée, FEMISE), presents in an updated way the realities of…

‘When we come home with our happy memories, we’re leaving behind a toxic legacy of plastic waste’ Josh Gabbatiss; Science Correspondent, 7 June 2018 ; The Independent Every summer the holidaymakers hitting…

Progress in Oceanography Special issue of MERMEX project: Recent advances in the oceanography of the Mediterranean Sea Edited by Richard Sempéré, Xavier Durrieu de Madron, Cécile Guieu, Ivane Pairaud Volume…

Arthur Wyns | 21st May 2018 The UN climate summit, which tool place in Germany this month, saw slow but steady progress on setting up the rules to implement the…

García-Nieto AP, Geijzendorffer I,  Baró F, Roche P, Bondeau A, Cramer W (2018) Impacts of urbanization around Mediterranean cities: changes in ecosystem service supply. Ecological Indicators, 91, 589-606 Go to article Highlights We assessed the impact…

Wolff C et al. (2018) A Mediterranean coastal database for assessing the impacts of sea-level rise and associated hazards. Scientific Data, 5, 180044. doi: 10.1038/sdata.2018.44 Abstract We have developed a new coastal database…

Malek Z, Verburg PH, Geijzendorffer IR, Bondeau A, Cramer W (2018) Global change effects on land management in the Mediterranean region. Global Environmental Change, 50, 238-254 Go to article Highlights We present land…

Hochman A, Harpaz T, Saaroni H, Alpert P. The seasons’ length in 21st century CMIP5 projections over the eastern Mediterranean. Int J Climatol. 2018;38:2627–2637. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5448 Abstract The eastern Mediterranean (EM)…

Perennou C, Guelmami A, Paganini M, Philipson P, Poulin B, Strauch A, Tottrup C, Truckenbrodt J, Geijzendorffer IR (2018) Mapping Mediterranean Wetlands With Remote Sensing: A Good-Looking Map Is Not Always…

Ruffault J, Curt T, Martin-StPaul NK, Moron V, Trigo RM (2018) Extreme wildfire events are linked to global-change-type droughts in the northern Mediterranean, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 847-856,…

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2018 – The worsening impacts of climate change in three densely populated regions of the world could see over 140 million people move within their countries’ borders by…

Reference : Voltz M, Ludwig W, Leduc C, Boufara S (2018) Mediterranean land systems under global change: current state and future challenges. Regional Environmental Change, 18(3),  619–622 Go to article Keyword Mediterranean…

Reference: Ait-Mouheb N, Bahri A, Thayer BB, Benyahia B, Bourrié G, Cherki B, …(2018) The reuse of reclaimed water for irrigation around the Mediterranean Rim: a step towards a more…

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2018. IPCC in a Nutshell The…

Reference: Lionello P, Scarascia L (2018) The relation between climate change in the Mediterranean region and global warming. Regional Environmental Change, 18 (5), 1481-1493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-018-1290-1 Go to article Abstract The recent (twentieth century) and future (twenty-first…

Green manifesto for 2050 includes measures for transport and clean energy but could put islands on a path to confrontation with Madrid. Go to article Arthur Neslen, 15 Feb 2018…

The Regional Group of Experts on Climate in Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (GREC-PACA) aims to centralize, make more accesible and share scientific knowledge on climate and climate change in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur…

Reference : Yi S., Heki K., Qian A. (2017) Acceleration in the Global Mean Sea Level Rise: 2005–2015. Geophysical Research Letters, 44, 23, 11,905–11,913 Go to article Plain Language Summary…

France just had one of its driest autumns in nearly 60 years, especially in Mediterranean areas Original article published in French on the “Metro France” website (go to article for the…

Original article published on Government of Catalonia website on 30/01/2017 (go to article) The Government presented the Third Report on Climate Change in Catalonia (TICCC) in the auditorium of the Palau…

Article published on 06 Oct 2017 on IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) website (go to article) In 2005, the Mediterranean Islands Plant Specialist Group (IUCN / SSC) published The…

Original article published on CREAF (The Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications, Barcelona, Spain) blog by Albert Naya i Díaz Go to the article  September 19, 2017 A new…

Reference: Malek Ž, Verburg PH (2017) Mediterranean land systems: representing diversity and intensity of complex land systems in a dynamic region. Landsc Urban Plan 165:102–116 Go to article Highlights We…

Publication of the paper “Socio-economic tools for supporting the achievement of Good Environmental Status of Mediterranean marine waters” by Plan Bleu–UN Environment/MAP Regional Activity Center This report has been elaborated by Plan…

Reference: Colloca F, Scarcella G and Libralato S (2017) Recent Trends and Impacts of Fisheries Exploitation on Mediterranean Stocks and Ecosystems. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:244. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00244 Go to article…

 Originally published: Yale Environment 360 by Antti Lipponen (August 2, 2017) In just 35 seconds, a new video illustrates how drastically temperatures in each of the world’s 191 countries…

Relevant article: Crisi C, Ledoux JB, Mokhtar-Jamai K, Bally M, Bensoussan N, Aurelle D, Cebrian E, Coma R, Féral JP, La Rivière M, Linares C, López-Sendino P, Marschal C, Ribes M,…

Publication of the paper “Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean: State of Play and Strategic Directions” by Plan Bleu – UN Environment / MAP Regional Activity Center Over time the Mediterranean region has…

  As the World Bank and partners aim to support governments in the Middle East and North Africa address the challenges that confront the water and sanitation sector, the development…

Publication of the paper “Economic assessment of ecosystem services provided by Mediterranean wetlands in terms of climate regulation” by Plan Bleu – UN Environment / MAP Regional Activity Center This study highlights…

Reference : Satta A, Puddu M, Venturini S, Giupponi C (2017) Assessment of coastal risks to climate change related impacts at the regional scale: The case of the Mediterranean region. International…

Reference : Nunes A, Köbel M, Pinho P, Matos P, de Bello F , Correia O, Branquinho C (2017) Which plant traits respond to aridity? A critical step to assess functional…

 IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature Video published online February 5, 2016 Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have an important role in providing ecosystem services, mitigating the impacts…

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…

 IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature Video published online August 25, 2016   Infographic video about the current conservation actions and knowledge on the conservation status of more…

The article : « Climate change: The 2015 Paris Agreement thresholds and Mediterranean basin ecosystems » by Joel Guiot (CEREGE, CNRS) and Wolfgang Cramer (IMBE, CNRS has been published in “Science”…

Reference: Gauquelin T, Michon G, Joffre R, Duponnois R, Génin D, Fady B, Bou Dagher-Kharrat M, Derridj A, Slimani S, Badri W, et al. (2016) Mediterranean forests, land use and climate…