Water Scarcity, Land Degradation and Desertification in the Mediterranean Region : Environmental and Security Aspects

Based on the suggestions made by the speakers of Plenary Session IV “Ch- lenges to the management of water resources and to countering deserti cation in the Mediterranean region” during the 15th Economic and Environmental Forum, the OCEEA proposed to organize a workshop on “Water Scarcity, Land Degra- tion and Deserti cation in the Mediterranean region – Environment and Security Aspects”.

In order to build on common synergies, OSCE sought co-operation with c- leagues from NATO, in particular from the Science for Peace and Security P- gramme.

NATO has a longstanding expertise on the issue and had organised in Valencia, in December 2003, a NATO scienti c workshop on “Deserti cation and Security in the Mediterranean Region”.

The objective of the new proposed wo- shop would be to broaden its focus from the scienti c community to include also policy makers. 1 The workshop, aimed at government of cials from the Mediterranean Region, gathered representatives of Water management, Land degradation and Desert- cation Departments of Ministries of Environment and representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

In addition, policy makers, scientists and experts were also invited.

The aim was to discuss how the OSCE, NATO and other c- petent organizations like the UNCCD, UNEP, MAP, and the EU could play a role in ensuring that environment and security linkages in terms of water scarcity, land degradation and deserti cation are addressed in the Mediterranean Region.