Helen Kopnina

Associate Editor
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands

What is really needed to achieve environmental sustainability?

12 October 2019
16:30–17:00 

Environmental sustainability typically refers to diverse issues associated with climate change, biodiversity loss, or pollution. While many policymakers are aware of the symptoms of environmental unsustainability, few of them have addressed the root causes of it, which are population growth, and the global spread of unsustainable production and consumption. Few of those concerned with sustainability in business or politics invest in family planning or address critical questions about whether economic growth can be decoupled from increased consumption of natural resources, which in turn affects the welfare of future generations as well as climate and biodiversity. In order to achieve sustainability aims, public, corporate and government stakeholders need to better understand the importance of integrating environmental considerations with social, demographic and economic mechanisms underlying unsustainable practices. Once these challenges and mechanisms are understood, a more positivistic turn toward sustainable solutions becomes possible.

Wolfgang Cramer

Advisory Board Member
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Aix-en-Provence, France

Environmental change in the Mediterranean Basin -- Can scientific information help to achieve the required policy change?

12 October 2019
17:00–17:30 

The Mediterranean Basin is the theater of multiple accelerating processes of environmental change (climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, overexploitation), yet little is known about the true key risks for human well-being and the policy measures needed to mitigate them. A large pan-Mediterranean network of scientists has begun to assess these risks, based on the evaluation of the scientific literature. Dominant indicators of detrimental change in ecosystems are diebacks following heat waves on land and in the ocean, consequences of water shortages in many areas, and significant expected changes in the littoral zone due to the expected sea-level rise. Measures of adaptation are standard practice in most regions, and have been so for millennia - however the current rates surpass historical ones on most parameters, the region is more densely populated than ever, and most support systems are finely tuned to current environmental conditions. I will present some of the key risks in more detail and conclude with a description of our way towards better exchange of knowledge between scientists and policymakers.

Jürg Luterbacher

Associate Editor
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
University of Giessen, Germany

Environmental and Climate Change across the Mediterranean over the last two millennia from paleoclimatic evidence: challenges, opportunities and future directions

12 October 2019
17:30–18:00 

Palaeo environmental and climatic information provide fundamental means for the characterization of natural decadal to centennial time-scale changes and put the recent anthropogenic warming in the long-term perspective. Here we present an overview of historical and natural proxies from marine and terrestrial archives across the Mediterranean back to Greek and Roman times. We discuss the principal methodologies and interdisciplinary approach to convert environmental and climate proxy information to quantitative and qualitative information and show recent advancement in our physical and dynamical understanding of climate and environmental changes, variations, trends and extremes across the Mediterranean. We discuss the potential role of internal variability and external forcing in shaping Mediterranean climate across time and space. The final part of the talk presents future perspectives, challenges and opportunities for collaboration among Euro-Mediterranean communities in the fields of palaeoclimate and environmental sciences

Essam Heggy

Guest of Editorial Board & Author
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
University of Southern California & NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, USA

Radar Remote Sensing in Arid & Hyper-Arid Areas

12 October 2019
18:00–18:30 

Arid & Hyper-Arid areas occupy 20% of the Earth continental surface with an increasing surface linked to global changes in the water cycle. Radar and microwave remote sensing techniques have been increasingly used to characterize the water, groundwater and soil moisture temporal and spatial dynamics in these areas due to their ability to accurately measure the soils dielectric properties induced by the different water saturation levels. Today radar and microwave remote sensing methods accounts for the majority of Earth observation techniques for water monitoring and characterization in both arid and hyper-arid areas. In this session, we will provide a comprehensive review of both the performance and limitations of these methods to address the changes in the water cycle in arid and hyper-arid areas notably for the deserts in North Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

Thomas L. Brewer

Guest of Editorial Board
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
Georgetown University School of Business, Washington, DC, USA
MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Cambridge, MA, USA

A Maritime Emission Control Area for the Mediterranean Sea? Technological Solutions and Policy Options for a ‘Med ECA’

12 October 2019
18:30–19:00 

Proposals to create a maritime Emission Control Area for the Mediterranean (Med ECA) are on the agendas of national governments, local governments, port authorities, international organizations and non-governmental organizations. Numerous studies have contributed much data and analysis about maritime emissions and their impacts in the Mediterranean region. The present paper reviews the results of these studies. The paper also reviews evidence from existing ECAs in other regions in order to inform analyses of issues about designing and implementing a Med ECA. The potential for applying remote sensing technology and digital ledger technology to compliance verification and enforcement processes is assessed. There are thus many issues and options concerning technologies and policies needing to be addressed. The following international institutions are especially appropriate for facilitating the development of a Med ECA: the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its affiliated body the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) at the UN Environment Programme; and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which prepares an annual Review of Maritime Transport. The paper concludes that the public health, food production, climate change and economic benefits of a Med ECA would be significant for the more than 200 million people living in Mediterranean coastal areas.

Nabil Khélifi

Senior Publishing Editor, MENA program
Journal Publishing Manager
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
Springer, a part of Springer Nature, Germany

How to prepare a successful scientific paper

13 October 2019
09:00–10:30

Publication must be seen as an important, if not the most important, part of the research process. However, writing research papers for academic journals is not easy and is also very competitive. After producing data and generating ideas from your research, how do you write a clear and concise paper that attracts the attention of journal editors? How should you prepare a cover letter? How should you respond to reviewer reports? A Senior Publishing Editor from Springer Nature in Heidelberg, Germany shares his advice during three hours on how to effectively write and structure your paper, prepare a cover page and respond to reviewers’ comments.

Tarek Abichou (canceled his participation)

Former Chief Editor
Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
Florida State University, USA

Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Landfills: A tool to help southern Mediterranean countries close illegal waste dumps

Open or illegal waste dumpsites represent a health and environmental emergency in the south Mediterranean region. Eventhough, closing of dumpsites is a central component for the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) in this region, it is a financial challenge for most of these countries. In terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, open dumpsites will account for 8-10 % of the global anthropogenic GHG emissions by 2025. The main objective of this plenary is to present a methodology based on carbon credit protocols for South Mediterranean countries to finance the placement of soil covers to close their illegal waste dumpsites. The implementation of the methodology will lead to a reduction in GHG emissions and protects the geo-environment near these illegal waste dumps.