Saving the Med—Israeli Leads International Effort

August 1, 2013

Keeping human development in check along the Mediterranean isn’t a goal for environmentalists only. Already back in 2004, the United Nations penned directives and policies on how coastal development in the Med region should look. And most of the countries in the region signed on.

Now, Israeli legal eagle Prof. Rachelle Alterman plans to take that policy and swiftly turn it into on-the-ground results. An urban land-use and policy expert at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Alterman initiated Mare Nostrum, a new project that will unite 11 Mediterranean countries and stakeholders in finding ways to better enforce shoreline development regulations.

Back in Roman times, the Mediterranean was nicknamed Mare Nostrum, Latin for “Our Sea.” And indeed the Romans celebrated it as their own by building amphitheatres on its shores to provide entertainment venues for the empire’s port cities, which stretched as far as Israel and Egypt.

The Israeli Mare Nostrum project will link modern partners with modern needs and problems. It will serve as a legal bridge between all the Mediterranean nations, starting first with a handful of partners. Mare Nostrum has been awarded a grant of €4.3 million and will take place over three years.

Read more: http://israel21c.org/environment/israeli-leads-international-league-to-save-the-med/

Source: By Karin Kloosterman, ISRAEL21c

Photo Credit: Kathy DeGagné