Discover our target regions: The Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a vast, semi-enclosed body of water surrounded by 22 countries across three continents – Europe, Africa, and Asia. Stretching from the Strait of Gibraltar in the west to the Lebanese coast in the east, it covers an area of 2.5 million km², making it the largest of the European seas.

The Mediterranean Sea region is considered a global climate change hotspot and is facing a range of severe threats due to rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and sea level rise.

Pollution is another major concern, with discharges of excess nutrients, hazardous substances, and marine litter degrading water quality. Biodiversity loss is also a threat, driven by factors like overfishing, habitat degradation, and the introduction of invasive alien species. Climate change impacts, such as sea level rise and changes in precipitation patterns, add further stress to the region’s ecosystems.

• Coastal Impacts: Densely populated coastline means any climate-related impacts on the Mediterranean will have significant consequences for coastal communities. Sea level rise is already impacting historic cities like Venice, while more intense storms and flooding threaten infrastructure and livelihoods.

• Regional Climate Shifts: Some countries’s geographic position, such as Italy’s, between temperate Northern Europe and tropical North Africa, means that its climate is shifting at regional level, with the south experiencing continuously rising temperatures while the north faces conditions similar to the south decades ago.
  These compounding threats to the broader Mediterranean region underscore the urgent need for robust climate adaptation and mitigation efforts to build resilience and protect vulnerable populations. Addressing these challenges will require coordinated, cross-border cooperation across the Mediterranean.

To address these challenges, the countries bordering the Mediterranean have engaged in over 40 years of international cooperation through initiatives like the Mediterranean Action Plan and the Union for the Mediterranean. Ongoing efforts aim to substantially reduce pollution and protect the fragile Mediterranean ecosystem for future generations. However, more concerted action is needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of this unique and valuable sea.

In SHORE’s Country Hubs located in the Mediterranean region, for instance, there is a large potential for improvements

Blue schools in Italy are relatively few, about 50, compared to the total number of schools in the country. The schools range from kindergarten to senior high school and are relatively spread out throughout the country. However, there is a clear lack of engagement from schools located inland, which could constitute a target for the SHORE project. Overall, current efforts will help to spread the network.

In Türkiye, coastal regions like the Aegean and Mediterranean exhibit strong potential due to their proximity to marine ecosystems and existing environmental education programs. Similarly, in Italy, coastal regions such as Liguria and Sicily are actively participating, leveraging their coastal heritage for marine education. Both countries are expanding Blue Schools programs, integrating marine literacy into school curricula and fostering partnerships with local communities, ensuring sustainable coastal and marine management practices are instilled from an early age.