LAUSR

Today, the Mediterranean region faces environmental degradation that is accelerating at an unprecedented rate (Ksibi et al. 2021a). The main causes are climate change, increasing pollution, urban growth, and the overexploitation and unsustainable use of resources due to rapid population growth. The effects are seen in several indicators such as the warming, more frequent extreme events, severe droughts, water shortages, contraction of natural resources, changes in land use and landscape deterioration, decreasing agricultural yields, biodiversity loss, deterioration of the ecosystems, corrosion of the natural coastal environment, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification. In addition to these more recent issues, the Mediterranean region naturally experiences a number of hazards such as floods, droughts, desertification, fires, catastrophic forest diebacks, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. In view of this disquieting situation, the most vital sectors, namely “water, food, energy, health and security” are seriously under threat, putting the quality of human life and the wellbeing of this region at risk (Fig. 1). This is particularly troubling in light of the current studies and future scenarios which consistently point to the emergence of significant and increasing risks in the coming decades (e.g., the risk of desertification) (Fig. 2). Consequently, policies for the sustainable development of the Mediterranean region and its surroundings need to mitigate these risks and create innovative adaptation strategies. In this context, there is an urgent need to reinforce the process of environmental integration which consists of ensuring that decision-makers from related sectors incorporate environmental considerations into their various activities. Moreover, knowledge exchange and collaboration between the countries of the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean on emerging environmental issues should be promoted and fostered. This will alleviate the problem of inadequate information of the more vulnerable southern Mediterranean countries, where few systematic observations schemes and impact models are based. In sum, in order to create policies for the sustainable development of theMediterranean region as a whole, tomitigate the considerable environmental risks and to develop adaptation options, it is essential to foster North/South Mediterranean collaboration, not only to streamline the policies and adaptation strategies but also to share existing environmental scientific knowledge across disciplines to provide a better understanding of the overall and shared risks posed. In this context, to minimize the disparities between northern and southern Mediterranean countries, to fill the knowledge gap, and also to improve the performance of southern Mediterranean countries on various environmental indicators, the Euro-Mediterranean Conference for Environmental Integration (EMCEI-2019) took place for the second time after EMCEI-2017 in Sousse, Tunisia (Fig. 2). Its main focus was to advance innovative approaches that contribute to achieving a sustainable environment in the Mediterranean and surrounding regions and to establish a continuous scientific forum to promote the exchange of knowledge and Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues