Download Speech by EU Commissioner Dimas: Maritime Policy at

Gemun 2011
Mediterranean Conference (MedCon)
Research Report – Topic 1
Consequences of climate change on water quality in the Mediterranean Sea
1 Guidelines
2 Introduction
3 Background
4 Measures
5 Developments
6 Problems/ Controversial Aspects
7 UN Departments
8 Terms
9 Works cited and further reading
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1. GUIDELINES
The Mediterranean Sea covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km² and has an average depth of
1,500 m. The Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar on the
west and to the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, by the Dardanelles and the Bosporus
respectively, on the east. The combination of similarly shared climate, geology and access to a
common sea has led to numerous historical and cultural connections between the ancient and
modern societies around the Mediterranean.
If current trends in emissions of greenhouse gases continue, global temperatures are expected to rise
faster over the next century than over any time during the last 10,000 years. Significant
uncertainties surround predictions of regional climate changes, but it is likely that the
Mediterranean region will also warm significantly.
Most projections point to more precipitation in winter and less in summer over the region as a
whole. A common feature of many projections is the declining of annual precipitation over much of
the Mediterranean region.
Even areas receiving more precipitation may get drier than today due to increased evaporation and
changes in the seasonal distribution of rainfall and its intensity.
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2. INTRODUCTION
Water is the Essence of Life. 6.8 billion people populate our planet and 75% of the entire surface is
covered by water. 97% of the total amount of water available is salt water and only 3% is actual
fresh water. In addition of that 3%, 70% is frozen in glaciers and ice caps. The Mediterranean Sea is
salt water.
The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most important Seas for either the European and African
Continent and the Middle Eat region.
The Mediterranean Sea is the largest of the semi-enclosed European seas. It is surrounded by 18
countries and has shores on three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia) with a combined population
of 129 million people in the catchment draining into sea, and sharing a coastline of 46 000 km.
3. BACKGROUND
3.1 The EC-UNP Cooperation in the Mediterranean
The Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of
the Mediterranean and its Protocols is the major legal framework for protection of the
Mediterranean environment.
The Convention was adopted in 1976 and amended in 1995 to take into account the results of the
UN Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The
amended Convention came into force on 9 July 2004. Twenty-one Mediterranean countries and the
EC are Contracting Parties to the Convention.
During the period 1952 to 1992, the number and frequency of heat waves affecting the region has
increased. The early 1990s were notable for recurrent droughts and for periods of intense rainfall in
the western Mediterranean and for extreme cold events and rainfall in the east. Recent climatic
extremes are linked with the exceptional behaviour of ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) and of
the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation).
In 2005, the European Commission and the MAP secretariat signed a Joint Work Programme,
outlining areas for enhanced cooperation, partly designed to ensure integration of environmental
concerns into sustainable development policies as applied in the region.
The European Commission and Mediterranean partner countries have also been cooperating in the
context of the Euro Mediterranean Horizon 2020 initiative to de-pollute the Mediterranean Sea by
2020. A series of concrete actions (road-map) were adopted by Euro-Mediterranean Environment
Ministers in Cairo in 2006 and this initiative aims to increase coordination between the relevant
Mediterranean partners and organisations.
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4. DEVELOPMENTS
One key finding is that future climate change could critically undermine efforts for
sustainable development in the Mediterranean region. In particular, climate change may add
to existing problems of desertification, water scarcity and food production, while also
introducing new threats to human health, ecosystems and national economies of countries.
The most serious impacts are likely to be felt in North African and eastern Mediterranean
countries.
This image illustrates heat stress in the 21st century for two greenhouse gas emissions
scenarios. The top panel shows the expected intensification of the severity of extreme hot
days given accelerating increases in greenhouse gas concentrations. The bottom panel shows
the expected decrease in intensification associated with decelerated increases in greenhouse
gas concentrations. (Purdue University/Diffenbaugh Laboratory)
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5. CONTROVERSIAL ASPECTS
The United Nations Environment Programme has estimated that 650 million tons of sewage,
129,000 tons of mineral oil, 60,000 tons of mercury, 3,800 tons of lead and 36,000 tons of
phosphates are dumped into the Mediterranean each year. Meanwhile, 70 per cent of the wastewater
dumped into the Mediterranean is untreated.
The sea is also a major oil transportation route and up to one million tons of crude oil are
discharged annually from accidental spills, illegal bunkering and tank cleaning practices, as well as
inadequate harbour facilities.
Pollution also reaches the Mediterranean through its major river systems: the Po, the Ebro, the Nile,
and the Rhone which carry substantial amounts of agricultural and industrial wastes. As the
Mediterranean is almost entirely landlocked, its waters have a very low renewal rate (80 to 90
years) making them excessively sensitive to pollution.
In recent decades, the arrival of exotic species from the tropical Atlantic has become a noticeable
feature. The main cause of the arrival of these new exotic species may be linked to global warming.
6. UN DEPARTMENTS
IMO: International Maritime Organization
UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme
REMPEC: Regional Maritime Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea
8. TERMS
Global Warming: is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans
since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation.
Biodiversity: is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire
planet. Biodiversity is one measure of the health of ecosystems.
Desertification: the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought,
deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.
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9. WORKS CITED AND FURTHER READINGS
UN-water
http://www.unwater.org/flashindex.html
UNEP
www.unep.org
Speech by EU Commissioner Dimas: Maritime Policy at the Heart of Marine Protection
http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_6025_en.htm
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