Water Stress in the Mediterranean

For many years now, the Mediterranean has been facing problems leading to a situation of serious environmental degradation. An increase in the temperature and salinity levels has been recorded during the second half of the 20th century in the Mediterranean Sea. However, this increase does not follow progressive trend and periods of temperature alternation have been observed. Following several climate change scientific reports, sea level trend at the global scale is higher than at the regional scales. Furthermore, in the regional scale there are other influence factors such the atmospheric pressure and the wind. In addition, the small rises in temperature … Continue reading

Why Mediterranean Countries are Safest Bet to Solve Energy Crisis in Europe

Europe has been desperately trying to find alternative sources of energy to replace Russian gas. American Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) imports used today, is only a temporary solution and not a long-term one, due to its high costs and transport limitations. However, Algeria, Israel, Egypt, and possibly other transit nations like Libya and Turkey in the future can all contribute significantly to the continent’s increased energy demands. In the Eastern Mediterranean significant amounts of natural gas have recently been discovered recently and could increase gas collaborations with Europe. Algeria increased its pipeline supplies to Europe by over 10% on available … Continue reading

Agricultural Scenario in MENA

Agriculture plays an important role in the economies of most of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the overall economy varies significantly among countries in the region, ranging from about 3.2 percent in Saudi Arabia to 13.4 percent in Egypt.  Large scale irrigation is expanding, enabling intensive production of high value cash and export crops, including fruits, vegetables, cereals, and sugar. Egypt Egypt is the 14th biggest rice producer in the world and the 8th biggest cotton producer in the world. Egypt produced about 5.67 million tons of rice and 635,000 tons … Continue reading

All You Need to Know About Ocean Acidification and its Impacts

The relentless rise in the percentage of atmospheric carbon dioxide since the Industrial Revolution is a well-known fact. Carbon dioxide is considered as one of the key players among the greenhouse gases that has contributed the most towards global warming, the current hot topic among environmentalists, scientists and even politicians. Another key issue is increasing being discussed nowadays is Ocean Acidification. Ocean acidification is an ongoing change in the chemistry of the ocean caused primarily by the ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. What is Ocean Acidification Around 1/4th of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere via … Continue reading