Agriculture and food security in climate sensitive areas in the Mediterranean
The current situation in the Mediterranean region shows an urgent need to preserve the natural resources: water (drought), soil (agronomic fertility), biodiversity and environments (aridity), air (atmospheric pollution, particularly in coastal metropolises on the north shore and coastal mega-cities on the shores East and South). And also the obvious need to anticipate climate change and adapt our way of growing and eating.
The global warming and the higher temperatures are climbing to the North. It is clear that, The South Mediterranean shore is a precursor to the problems that the North shore will encounter in the near future.
The study on agriculture and food security lead by CASE’s experts focuses on the following components:
- main blocking points based on academic research and backed by evidence
- list of funding possibilities available to LRAs from the South Mediterranean partner countries that would allow them to fund projects related to the development of a more eco-innovative agriculture,
- policy recommendations to LRAs linked to the main blocking points identified and answer to the question how the local and regional level can be concretely supported to develop and the implement strategies for a more efficient use of natural resources and sustainable agriculture while ensuring food security,
- annotated bibliography of the contribution of local and regional authorities to the development of the following focus areas, based on empirical evidence, interviews and desk research:
- Management of agricultural soils as a natural resource to be preserved
- Water resources management: access to drinking water in sufficient quantity and quality; saving water for agricultural use, preparing for increased periods of drought and fire
- Development of agro-ecology and new eco-innovative agricultural techniques: winwin relationship between agriculture and biodiversity conservation, return to cultures of rustic and ancestral species, which are more resilient, permaculture development
- Support for food security and sovereignty: capacity of states and regions to produce/ dispose of what they need, to promote local distribution channels, to develop urban agriculture and production of endemic and resilient species of the Cretan Mediterranean diet.
- examples of good practices/solutions.
The study will cover the following countries that are ARLEM members: Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Libya which has observer status within ARLEM.
The study is conducted by CASE in partnership with the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) based in Barcelona.
Project funding: The European Committee of the Regions
Partner: European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed)
