The climate of the Eastern Mediterranean is becoming hotter and drier each year, and experts predict that increasing wildfires and decreasing water supplies will lead to further displacement and conflict over the next decades. Moreover, rapid urbanisation amidst political turmoil results in insufficient waste management that affects the entire region. However, ongoing conflicts in Cyprus, Israel/Palestine, and Syria, as well as political upheaval in Lebanon, Egypt, and Turkey, impede the possibility for concerted climate action. This is despite the interconnectedness of the Eastern Mediterranean basin, which is become increasingly salinated and polluted by waste and rubbish.
The project offers a global assessment of the relationship between climate and conflict in the region. It documents the interconnectedness of the Eastern Mediterranean basin on film and will offer policy recommendations for immediate action. To begin with, research on Cyprus includes interviews with scientists, climate activists, and civil society organisations working on specific environmental issues, such as protecting endangered species. The research aims at evaluating the most urgent issues on the island and the effect of the ongoing conflict on action to ameliorate the problems. A list of the most urgent and unresolved climate issues for the island is compiled.
The PCC works with local filmmaker Orhan Eskiköy on a 30-minute documentary film that follows specific environmental issues, such as the flow of rubbish, around the Eastern Mediterranean basin. This will be followed by a conference bringing together regional experts on conflict and climate change to discuss a global approach to this regional issue. The conference is intended to lead to a special issue of a journal. In addition, interviews conducted with these experts will be used during the conference, as part of the documentary film project. A policy report will also be produced on the main findings of the project for the Eastern Mediterranean basin as a whole.
