Lydia Chaparro (Fundació ENT) is co-author of a new book of Quaderns de la Mediterrània published by the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and edited by Icaria Editorial.
Number 25 of Quaderns de la Mediterrània is entitled “Nature and Sustainability. Coexisting in the Mediterranean” and is divided into four main themes: Towards an Ecological Awareness; For a Clean Mediterranean; Challenges to Obtain New Resources; and Public and Private Sustainability.
This new publication, that has had the participation of eco-union, tries to address the different issues that face the Mediterranean region by an interdisciplinary analysis, with the participation of philosophers, biologists and experts in various disciplines like Jordi Pigem, Alicia Puleo, Hussein Abaza, Susanne Hirschmann, Najib Saab, Joan Martínez Alier or Jorge Wagensberg, to name just a few, who, from their respective views, address the different social and environmental challenges currently faced by the Mediterranean Sea.
Challenges that will not be easy to overcome, because the Mediterranean presents a unique geographic and cultural area of the world, as it comprises up to 22 countries and over 450 million people, but some of these countries suffer from serious conflicts, and in addition, social inequality between regions is evident. Also, the Mediterranean is currently one of the most important focuses of tourism in the world and at the same time is a highly polluted and overexploited sea.
In this sense, the article wrote by Lydia Chaparro “Saving the Mediterranean Sea, the Great Pending Issue” warns of the fragile ecological situation of this sea, mainly due to overfishing and habitat loss, and the need to preserve it in order to guarantee the future of fishing, equity and food security. According to the article, these factors will be further aggravated by climate change and the paradigm of blue growth. This is why there is a need to turn the tide and make a global transition towards much more responsible, inclusive and sustainable production and consumption systems, from the social and environmental point of view.
The book Quaderns de la Mediterrània 25 is available in English and Spanish and can be found in paper and electronic format HERE.