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Page Updated:
20-Sep-2006
SPS Homepage > News 2004
Workshop
considers dimensions of environmental security in the Mediterranean
Region
The
Role of Risk Assessment in Environmental Security and Emergency Preparedness
in the Mediterranean Region
Eilat, Israel, from
15-18 April
Dimensions of environmental security in the Mediterranean region were
discussed at the NATO Advanced Workshop entitled “The Role of Risk
Assessment in Environmental Security and Emergency Preparedness in the
Mediterranean Region.” The main discussions of this regional event
took place in Eilat, Israel, from 15-18 April, but it began with a one
day meeting in Egypt where organizers met with Egyptian scientists and
diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss environmental
security and emergency preparedness in the region, as well as to uphold
the catalytic role of NATO in bringing scientists and government officials
together.
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The message from this meeting, that countries in the Mediterranean region
are located in areas sensitive to rapid changes in the demand for water
and food and that they may also be among the first victims of global
climate change, was taken by the group to the meeting in Eilat. There,
about 40 participants from 13 countries discussed environmental challenges
and hazards that are likely to increase in the whole region and may lead
to future violent conflicts if the causes of these environmental problems
are not recognized. The meeting discussed potential counter-measures and emergency plans
that should be launched within the framework of co-operative strategies
of conflict avoidance. Multilateral cooperation with input from scientific,
political, and community organizations will need to occur in the political,
economic, and social sectors in order to have the broadest impacts. Regulatory
policies will need to address a broad range of environmental risks that
include human health and welfare. The members of the discussion group
were optimistic that states within this region would be working together
by 2015-2020.
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The workshop participants set up a network of scientists to work together
on regional risk and security issues. The participants dubbed the network
MEERA-NET — the Middle Eastern Environmental Risk Assessment Network.
MEERA-NET will increase international cooperation through the proposal
of new institutions for effective environmental management. It will promote
peace through the harmonization of legislation, guidelines, and methodologies.
It was felt that, with its lofty goals, MEERA-NET should attract international
funding.
The workshop culminated at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
(AIES). The Institute is situated on Kibbutz Ketura near the Jordanian
and Egyptian borders and the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat. It attracts students
and faculty from the region and abroad. Workshop participants reported
major findings and proposed future directions of research to a group
of international students. There was consensus that future conflicts
in the region will have to be addressed through international intervention
as little informal cooperation is occurring between Israel and her neighbours.
The workshop was co-directed by Benoit Morel, Carnegie Mellon University,
Pittsburgh, USA, and Mustafa Emara, Al-Azhar University, Egypt, and chaired
by Igor Linkov, Cambridge Environmental, Massachusetts, USA. Additional
support for the workshop was provided by the Society for Risk Analysis
and Isrotel.
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