Mediterranean Mosaics

“Avoid the unmanageable, and manage the unavoidable”

The Mediterranean Mosaics project focuses on environmental protection and rural development items, and seeks for innovative solutions to address the threat that socio-economic and climate changes pose to the survival of the extensive agro-silvo-pastoral landscapes in the Mediterranean region. For many centuries, these kind of natural  landscapes supported rural societies thanks to their biological diversity and ecosystem services, and shaped the core natural and cultural heritage of the Mediterranean area.  

The project started in 2012, with the aim of designing and field-testing adaptive measures for biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, and rural development. It helps building  “disturbance-smart” socio-ecosystems at a landscape level.

Its participatory approach engages local societies and decision makers in planning long-term, shared “landscape visions”, while testing and implementing innovative measures to manage and restore ecosystem connectivity and functionality in pilot fieldwork in Lebanon and Italy.

Mediterranean Mosaics current phase shapes on the five, following lines of work:

1. Adaptive management and conservation of water resources.
2. Adaptive management, restoration, and conservation of forest.
3. Integrated and participatory land planning and support to the diversification of the rural economy .
4. Capacity building for key stakeholders.
5. Production of new knowledge to enhance the resilience of critical Mediterranean landscapes (wetlands, high mountains) and the streamlining of lessons from the policy dialogue.