The Mediterranean sea is a hot spot of marine biodiversity, sheltering 8% of the world known marine species – of which 25% are endemic – over only 0.8% of the earth’s oceans surface. This almost closed sea, with a high coastal population density, concentrates – more than any other sea basin – natural and anthropogenic pressures.

Human activities such as fishing and aquaculture, agriculture, industry, tourism, marine transport, oil industry, are as many sources of pollution, overexploitation, disturbance and degradation of coastal and marine habitats and species. As a consequence, marine ecosystems are at threat and so are human activities depending on them.

Societal changes occurring in Mediterranean countries (population increase in the South and East shores, urban densification along the coasts, raise in seaside tourism) make these stresses even more acute.
Moreover, expected consequences of climate change (lower rainfall, increased air and sea water temperature, more intense and frequent extreme climatic ©Denis Lacroix, Ifremer                                                                  events, higher sea level and water acidification) put additional pressures on                                                                                                         habitats and living resources.

These global changes raise questions about our ability to understand, foresee and efficiently manage marine resources over the long term.

The MERMED foresight thinking workshop aims to integrate current scientific knowledge and foresight vision in order to propose research priorities and new partnerships to build a scientific strategy adapted to the Mediterranean context in response to these changes.

The MERMED foresight thinking workshop develops a trans-disciplinary and multi-stakeholders approach carried by 19 partners: French research organisations and universities, professional organisations, associations and international organisations, institutions from South and East Mediterranean countries, under the coordination of Agropolis International.

• French research organisations: BRGM, CNRS, Ifremer, Inria, IRD
• Universities involved in the Mediterranean region: Aix-Marseille University, University of Montpellier 2, University Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris), University Sud Toulon-Var, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis;
• Business representative organisations: Pôle Mer Méditerranée, the French National committee of fisheries (CNPMEM);
• International associations and organisations: Blue Plan, French committee of IUCN, Interacademic group of Development (GID);
• Institutions from the South and East ring of the Mediterranean sea: the Maghreb network of National Halieutics Research Institutes (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, the institute for marine sciences and technology of Dokuz Eylül University in Izmir, Turkey.
  

MER-MED is the second forward-thinking workshop coordinated by Agropolis International—the first one was PARME- Partnerships and Research in the Mediterranean (2010-2011).  

November 16, 2013: Meeting of the expert group transverse meeting multi-site online with Montpellier

July 1st, 2013: meeting of the cross-cutting expert group, Agropolis International, Montpellier

April 15th: meeting of the Steering committee