GENERAL DESCRIPTION




RATIONALE


The interactions between regional aspects of global change and socio-economicissues are particularly strong and important in the Mediterranean basin.In the last decades, dramatic population growth, geopolitical and economicchanges occurred in several parts of the region, disturbing long term establisheeconomic and societal practices. In climatic terms, the region is characterisedby its geographical position at the boundary between the descending branchof the Hadley circulation and the Westerlies and as well is influencedby the North Atlantic anomalies that cause large climate variability, thusmaking the detection of superimposed trends very difficult. The regioncontributes to the dynamics of the oceanic conveyor belt, is a source ofaerosols and dust reinforced by desert sources affecting a large area,and influences synoptic scale circulation systems due to its unique topographyand to land-ocean-atmosphere interactions. It is very sensitive to, andgreatly influenced by, global climate changes, through effective couplingand teleconnections: amplified effects due to its sensitivity can easilybe detected and studied in a laboratory-like enclosed environment. It isan area of high topographic complexity, in which processes interact atvarious scales, and features large gradients of land use intensity andwater availability. The region is also very sensitive to changes in worldeconomics, land policy, and demographics, which in combination have considerablecontrol over sustainable development. Although the Mediterranean Sea links,as well as separates, different economic and political systems, there isshared concern over many common environmental problems on both sides ofthe waterwhich serves as a bridge for Euro-African scientific co-operation.Furthermore, there is considerable potential for research around the Basin,which could be mobilised around environmental major issues. These outstanding features make the Mediterranean region an exemplary area for integrated research into change-related impacts, which should bring unique informationto policy makers willing to promote sustainable development in the whole region.


OBJECTIVES AND GOALS


Taking into consideration the above rationale , the objective of RICAMARE was to set up a Mediterranean Regional Network for Research in Global Change, with the aim of developing regional collaboration in global change research between scientists from European and non-European countries around the Mediterranean Basin, following the recommendations of the International ENRICH/START Workshop on "Global Change and the Mediterranean Region" held in Toledo, Spain, 25-28 October, 1996. The main issues addressed by RICAMARE were :
A specific attention was paid to the link with the European Commission sectoral policies.and the START action guidelines.


PROJECT METHODOLOGY



RICAMARE linked natural and social scientists from countries aroundthe Mediterranean interested in tackling the inter-relationships betweenthe natural and human environment in order to develop strategies for sustainabledevelopment in the region.
The RICAMARE network was set up step by step and  developed itsactivities along three main lines :
  1. Contribution to the developmentof the research agenda on global change in the Mediterranean by, amongstother things, organising a series of workshops which  reviewed the state of knowledge and ongoing efforts, identified future needs and deviseda strategy for future research and activities


  2. Promotion of training and capacity building on global change issues in the region, by organising a number of dedicated courses in existing institutions


  3. Promotion of the diffusion of researchand increase awareness about global change, its implications for sustainable development and the well-being of the people in the region, and the needs for policy actions in the region, through electronic information systems, publication of bulletin and newsletters, and the tentative preparation of a global change Conference in the region planned to be held after theproject completion

The last RICAMARE Steering Committee decided to set up a long term "post-RICAMARE" activity, to be undertaken  under the general coordination of MEDIAS-France.In order to achieve this objective, it was decided to consolidate and extend the RICAMARE network as needs arise.

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