How has modernization changed the landscape of the Mediterranean region?
Answers
This biogeographical region includes the Mediterranean Sea and seven Member States, either partially (France, Portugal, Italy, Spain) or completely (Greece, Malta, Cyprus). It has specific regional features: a climate of hot dry summers and humid, cool winters and a generally hilly landscape. The Mediterranean has not only a very rich biodiversity but also a large number of species that do not exist anywhere else.
To best protect the Mediterranean region, the relevant Member States and key stakeholders team up to devise nature protection measures, tailored to suit the particular needs of the entire region and to target its specific pressures.
The list of sites of Community importance for the Mediterranean biogeographical region, included in Natura 2000, is updated every year.
The climate is characterised by hot dry summers and humid, cool winters. It is also very capricious with sudden heavy rain or bouts of high winds such as the Sirocco and Mistral. This climate has a profound influence on the vegetation and wildlife of the region.
For a region that takes its name from the sea it surrounds, the Mediterranean is surprisingly hilly. It includes high mountains and rocky shores, thick scrub and semi-arid steppes, coastal wetlands and sandy beaches as well as a myriad of islands dotted across the sea.
Man has left its mark across much of the landscape. The Mediterranean scrub, with its many flowers and aromatic plants, is a direct result of centuries of human activities (livestock grazing, cultivation forest fires and clearances). This scrub has evolved into a complex and intricate mobile patchwork of habitats, home to an exceptionally rich biodiversity.