In fact, the highest reaches of the main mountain ranges generally mark the limit of the hydrographic basin that drains towards the Mediterranean Sea. Only the coastal plains from eastern Tunisia to the Sinai Peninsula, bordered mainly by low-lying desert, are free of mountains. Apart from the coastal plains and the deltaic zones of large rivers (Ebro, Rhone, Po and Nile), the coastlines are mostly rimmed by mountain ranges. The largest islands are Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Cyprus, and Crete, and the major island groups include the Balearics off the coast of Spain and the Ionian, Cyclades, and Dodecanese islands off Greece. Numerous islands correspond to isolated tectonic blocks, the summits of submarine ridges, or the tips of undersea volcanoes. This allows increased understanding of the overall interrelation between Mediterranean ecosystems and the human drivers.Ī general overview of the Mediterranean region’s physical geography reveals an irregular, deeply indented coastline, especially in the north, where the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas jut southward from the main body of Europe. In order to be able to analyse the different environmental problems and issues that affect the Mediterranean marine and coastal ecosystems it is important to be aware of the natural characteristics of the Mediterranean Basin and have an overview of the major drivers in the Mediterranean region, including all economic sectors within the Mediterranean basin and specially those devoted to the exploitation of the coastal and marine natural resources. This approach is essential to sustainable development in all nations bordering on bodies of water that extend beyond their boundaries. These characteristics, combined with the political complexity of the region, mean the management and protection of the coastal and marine environment will require multilateral environmental agreements and regulations, abided by at a supranational level. The Mediterranean is a relatively small, enclosed sea with limited exchange with the oceanic basins, intense internal mesoscale circulation, and high diversity of sensitive ecosystems. The Mediterranean Sea and its coasts are the source of many of the resources harvested in the region, but also the conveyor belt for trade, and often the sink for the cumulative impacts of these activities. The Mediterranean region has historically been the scene of intense human activity. They are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey. Today 21 countries, with surface areas from 2 km2 to 2.4 million km2, have coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea. This has led to a complex and patchy political map. Overall, it is a densely populated region with an intricate political history involving many different ethnic groups. The region enclosing the Mediterranean Sea encompasses portions of three continents: Europe and its southern peninsulas to the north, southwestern Asia to the east, and the Maghreb region of northern Africa to the south. The Mediterranean is not only complex in ecology, but also socio-politically – twenty-one countries border this heavily used sea (UNEP/MAP, 2012). The region comprises a vast set of coastal and marine ecosystems that deliver valuable benefits to all its coastal inhabitants, including brackish water lagoons, estuaries, or transitional areas coastal plains wetlands rocky shores and nearshore coastal areas sea grass meadows coralligenous communities frontal systems and upwellings seamounts and pelagic systems. The Mediterranean Basin is one of the most highly valued seas in the world.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |