Based on the suggestions made by the speakers of Plenary Session IV “Ch- lenges to the management of water resources and to countering deserti cation in the Mediterranean region” during the 15th Economic and Environmental Forum, the OCEEA proposed to organize a workshop on “Water Scarcity, Land Degra- tion and Deserti cation in the Mediterranean region – Environment and Security Aspects”. In order to build on common synergies, OSCE sought co-operation with c- leagues from NATO, in particular from the Science for Peace and Security P- gramme. NATO has a longstanding expertise on the issue and had organised in Valencia, in December 2003, a NATO scienti c workshop on “Deserti cation and Security in the Mediterranean Region”. The objective of the new proposed wo- shop would be to broaden its focus from the scienti c community to include also policy makers. 1 The workshop, aimed at government of cials from the Mediterranean Region, gathered representatives of Water management, Land degradation and Desert- cation Departments of Ministries of Environment and representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs. In addition, policy makers, scientists and experts were also invited. The aim was to discuss how the OSCE, NATO and other c- petent organizations like the UNCCD, UNEP, MAP, and the EU could play a role in ensuring that environment and security linkages in terms of water scarcity, land degradation and deserti cation are addressed in the Mediterranean Region.

This book provides a multi-lateral forum for cooperation, information exchange, and dialogue among the environmental, development, foreign and security policy communities within the Mediterranean Region and thus may provide a precedent for further cooperation and partnership, including other more advanced conferences and publications, on assessing the condition of the entire region and the subsequent impacts and linkages to environmental security.

Desertification includes land degradation due to both climatic and anthropogenic causes, where land includes water, soil, and the biosphere. This book presents the most recent findings from the European Community's MEDALUS project, which was formed to understand and manage semi-arid environments that are undergoing great change. * Covers climate and land use processes and responses in the Mediterranean * First book to provide guidelines for the management of land degradation in Mediterranean environments * Based on first-hand experience of the problems by those responsible for solving them

This book addresses six key factors that will affect environmental policies in the Mediterranean region during the next fifty years: population growth, climate change, soil erosion and desertification, water scarcity, food production, and urbanization and pollution. The authors assess these as potential sources of violent conflict. The interdisciplinary approach makes this a relevant and useful reference for a broad range of professionals, specialists and researchers.

This book addresses six key factors that will affect environmental policies in the Mediterranean region during the next fifty years: population growth, climate change, soil erosion and desertification, water scarcity, food production, and urbanization and pollution. The authors assess these as potential sources of violent conflict. The interdisciplinary approach makes this a relevant and useful reference for a broad range of professionals, specialists and researchers.

The role of water in our communities, from local to regional and right up to global levels, poses a series of key questions about climate change, about the anthropogenic impact on the environment, and about all the interconnected actions and events that affect the availability and quality of the resource. All these questions share a common demand for more scientific knowledge and information. In this particular context the disciplinary boundaries are fading, and there is a growing need to create broader connections and wider collaborative interdisciplinary groups, aimed at building an integrated knowledge-base to serve not only stakeholders but also the whole of society. Only in this way can we hope to respond effectively to the challenges and changing dynamics of human-hydrologic systems. Following this concept, contributors from multiple disciplinary backgrounds, such as Law Studies, Hydrogeology, Monitoring and Information Technologies, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Environmental Sciences, Systems Engineering, Economics and Social Studies, joined forces and interacted in this workshop. The present book reports the proceedings of this three-day ARW (Advanced Research Workshop), and explores different aspects of the environmental security assessment process, focusing on the assessment, monitoring and management of water resources, and giving an overview of the related scientific knowledge.