Desertification in the Mediterranean Region: a Security Issue 1 2 William G. Kepner & Jose Luis Rubio 1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, P.O. Box 93478, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 89193-3478 ([email protected]) 2. Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificacion-CIDE, (CSIC, Universitat de Valencia, Generalitat Valenciana), Cami de la Marjal, s/n Apartado Oficial, 46470 Albal, Valencia, Spain ([email protected]) Security issues related to desertification in the Mediterranean Region were the subject of a special NATO workshop held on 2-5 December 2003 at the Museum of Sciences Principe Felipe in Valencia, Spain. This workshop was organized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA), Centre for Desertification Research (Valencia, Spain), and the Desert Research Institute (Reno, Nevada, USA) on behalf of the NATO Science Committee and the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (Public Diplomacy Division). Additionally, the European Society for Soil Conservation participated as a collaborating institution. Other participating institutions included the Spanish Ministry of Environment, Generalitat Valencia (Department of Territory and Housing), the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the City of Art & Sciences of Valencia which hosted the Meeting."

This book focuses on the linkage between human and environmental security and takes both a conceptual and a pragmatic approach to complex environmental issues (such as soil erosion, desertification, water degradation, demographic shifts, food security and agricultural prospects, urbanization trends, hazard-induced migrations) that affect human security.

The book is the direct outcome of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), sponsored by the Science for Peace and Security Programme (SPS), Salve Regina University, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The book summarizes the collective work of both natural and social science disciplines in regard to how best address, mitigate, adapt, or achieve resilience in the face of changing environmental conditions.

The book is written in an accessible style to discuss the concept of security from both subjective and objective perspectives. Specifically it uses separate approaches beginning with conceptual methods to understanding the intersections of risk, uncertainty, and environmental challengesa "as well as the challenges to measuring human security and is followed by region-specific challenges for environmental and human security in North Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East. Additionally, case studies are included which relate to human security, and which range from examinations of urban challenges, security and sustainability, lost opportunities for human security, and environmental justice and health disparities. Lastly, the book concludes with means and methods to recognize and act on security hazard impacts, offering case examples and innovative approachesfrom sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia and then finishes by offering pathways to the futurea "including recommendations for both future research and policy action.

This book focuses on the linkage between human and environmental security and takes both a conceptual and a pragmatic approach to complex environmental issues (such as soil erosion, desertification, water degradation, demographic shifts, food security and agricultural prospects, urbanization trends, hazard-induced migrations) that affect human security. The book is the direct outcome of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), sponsored by the Science for Peace and Security Programme (SPS), Salve Regina University, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The book summarizes the collective work of both natural and social science disciplines in regard to how best address, mitigate, adapt, or achieve resilience in the face of changing environmental conditions. The book is written in an accessible style to discuss the concept of security from both subjective and objective perspectives. Specifically it uses separate approaches beginning with conceptual methods to understanding the intersections of risk, uncertainty, and environmental challengesa "as well as the challenges to measuring human security and is followed by region-specific challenges for environmental and human security in North Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East. Additionally, case studies are included which relate to human security, and which range from examinations of urban challenges, security and sustainability, lost opportunities for human security, and environmental justice and health disparities. Lastly, the book concludes with means and methods to recognize and act on security hazard impacts, offering case examples and innovative approaches fromsub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia and then finishes by offering pathways to the futurea "including recommendations for both future research and policy action.

Desertification in the Mediterranean Region: a Security Issue 1 2 William G. Kepner & Jose Luis Rubio 1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, P.O. Box 93478, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 89193-3478 ([email protected]) 2. Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificacion-CIDE, (CSIC, Universitat de Valencia, Generalitat Valenciana), Cami de la Marjal, s/n Apartado Oficial, 46470 Albal, Valencia, Spain ([email protected]) Security issues related to desertification in the Mediterranean Region were the subject of a special NATO workshop held on 2-5 December 2003 at the Museum of Sciences Principe Felipe in Valencia, Spain. This workshop was organized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA), Centre for Desertification Research (Valencia, Spain), and the Desert Research Institute (Reno, Nevada, USA) on behalf of the NATO Science Committee and the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (Public Diplomacy Division). Additionally, the European Society for Soil Conservation participated as a collaborating institution. Other participating institutions included the Spanish Ministry of Environment, Generalitat Valencia (Department of Territory and Housing), the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the City of Art & Sciences of Valencia which hosted the Meeting."