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Background Information

The Mediterranean and Black Sea regions have been the historical birthplace and centre of many civilisations and cultures for thousands of years. The Mediterranean Sea is currently the most nutrient impoverished large body of salt water, and a region of large-scale industrial and agricultural activity, while it remains the primary recreational area in Europe. The Black Sea, on the contrary, is burdened by excessive loads of nutrients and hazardous substances from the coastal countries and the rivers that enter it, with the most important river being the Danube.

The two seas are interconnected, however, they have distinct and very different characteristics. Despite their differences, they are both equally susceptible to climate change and anthropogenic pressures, as years of intense development and exploitation have resulted in significant change to the fragile natural resources of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Coastal urbanisation, industrialisation and touristic exploitation, intensive agriculture, riverine and atmospheric inputs and fisheries are only some of the anthropogenic forcings which have exerted a progressively growing pressure on this environment, and, as a result, put its integrity at stake.

Furthermore, and in spite of the importance of these delicate environments, there seems to be a lack of information for the two regions that could help in dealing with these man-made pressures. Discovering how these ecosystems function could help in developing policies and strategies for sustainable development, and this is where SESAME will play a crucial role. As an Integrated Project, SESAME will approach these two regions as a coupled climatic/ecosystem entity for the first time, and will assess the changes in the western and eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea over the last fifty years, as well as, simultaneously, predict changes in the ability of these ecosystems to provide good and services in the next fifty years to come. Its innovation lies in the in the close merging of economic and natural sciences. (More)