The first session ‘Assessing Climate and Environmental Stresses in the Mediterranean Region: Scientific Evidences and Socio-economic Impact’ provided the youth with knowledge on climate challenges the Mediterranean region will be facing in the coming decades. During this session, climate experts presented the findings of the MedECC^[1] report on the “Risks Associated to Climate and Environmental Changes in the Mediterranean Region” and the UN ESCWA supported RICCAR^[2] - “Arab Climate Change Assessment Report” on its socio-economic impacts. These presentations were followed by an open discussion on measures to be taken.

[UPCOMING] SESSION 2 – FRIDAY DECEMBER 18^TH, 2020: ‘DEVELOPING LOCAL TERRITORIAL STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE RESILENCE OF ECOSYSTEMS’

Organized jointly by the International Union for Conservation of Nature - IUCN' program for civil-society small-scale initiatives – PPI-OSCAN and the CMI, the second webinar will touch upon ‘Developing Local Territorial Strategies to Enhance the Resilience of Ecosystems’. This webinar will explore the concept of resilience by attempting to reflect on how youth can operationalize territorial strategies when developing ecosystem protection initiatives. Young project leaders whose ideas have been implemented under PPI-OSCAN’s program will share their experiences and provide feedbacks upon possible youth-led impacting actions. During the webinar, an online interactive quiz will stimulate MedYCA members and inspire them to share their personal experiences with grassroot initiatives and reflect on the main challenges they have faced. The results of this quiz, as well as the reflections carried out throughout the webinar will serve as a basis for a one-pager synthesis on the main challenges faced by youth when developing grassroot strategies for ecosystem and territorial resilience. The one-pager synthesis will also lay down the foundation of the third webinar's discussion.

[UPCOMING] SESSION 3 – TBD, JANUARY 2021 ‘COLLECTIVE REFLECTION: YOUTH, ECOSYSTEM AND TERRITORIAL RESILIENCE’

The webinar series will conclude with a final session entitled ‘Empowering the Youth to Strengthen the Resilience of Ecosystems’ aiming at setting the foundations for a living report and capacitating youth to act upon the resilience of Mediterranean Ecosystems. MedYCA members will brainstorm collectively on a call for papers - concept note that seeks to identify new avenues for recommendations addressed to decision-makers and made by young people. CMI’s partners from the Territorial Resilience to Climate Change Technical Hub will provide guidance on the concept note and will engage with youths in their discussions.

Next steps

[UPCOMING] FINAL REPORT - ‘TERRITORIAL STRATEGIES FOR THE PROTECTION OF MEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEMS: LEVERAGING THE YOUTH’S POTENTIAL FOR ACTION’

This series of three webinar sessions will lead to the production of a living report by the Mediterranean Youth for Climate Action network under the guidance of CMI Climate Change Team and  the Territorial Resilience to Climate Change technical hub members. Based on the concept note elaborated during the third webinar session, a call for papers will be issued by the CMI and selected papers will be featured in the report ‘Territorial Strategies for the Protection of Mediterranean Ecosystems: Leveraging the Youth’s Potential for Action’. The living report will also reflect on the outcomes of the webinar series. It will be presented at the 2021 ‘One Nature, One Future Global Youth Summit’ during the IUCN World Conservation Congress, and promoted within the upcoming major international climate events, such as the CoP 26 in Glasgow.  

UPCOMING WEBINAR:

AGENDA: SESSION 2 – FRIDAY DECEMBER 18^TH, 2020: ‘DEVELOPING LOCAL TERRITORIAL STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE PROTECTION OF ECOSYSTEMS’

PAST WEBINAR:

AGENDA: SESSION 1 - TUESDAY OCTOBER 27^TH, 2020: ASSESSING CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION: SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCES AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT

Resources & Presentations

Webinar 1: ‘Assessing Climate and Environmental stresses in the Mediterranean Region: Scientific Evidences and Socio-Economic Impact’ 

• Abdel Rahman Hassoun, CNRS-L "Mediterranean Climate Change Assessment and Threat on Ecosystems: Focus on Mediterranean Ecosystem" [EN]
• ِAya Ibrahim, UN ESCWA "Arab Climate Change Assessment: Scientific Evidence from RICCAR" [EN]
• François Guerquin, Plan Bleu "MedECC: An Expert Network on Climate and Environmental Changes in the Mediterranean Basin" [EN]
• Joel Guiot, Wolfgang Cramer, Katarzyna Marina, MedECC "All About MedECC" [EN[

[1] Network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change

[2] Regional Initiative for the Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources and Socio-Economic Vulnerability in the Arab Region