SE-2020 Petra tou romiou beach

EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030

SE-2020-Venice

Wildlife Returns to Tourist-free Venice

SE-2018 Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis

One Third of Birds Disappear from French Farmlands

SE-2016 White shark

Sharks and Rays Threatened with Extinction

SE-2015-IberianLynx

Back From the Brink: Iberian Lynx

SE-2014-OverFishing

Study Confirms Overfishing Remains Greatest Threat to Mediterranean Sea

SE-2009 Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) 2

One in Six Mediterranean Species Threatened with Extinction

SE-2009-2018Greece Forest Fire June 18 2007

56,000 Wildfires Across Southern Europe

SE-2006-IntercontinentalReserve

Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean

SE-2000 Pyrenean Ibex

Pyrenean Ibex Extinct

SE-1998-VeniceFlood

Venice Floods 99 Times in One Year

SE-1999-GreeceFire

Human-Initiated Fires Plague Mediterranean Forests

SE-1998 Kosovo

Environmental Impact of Kosovo Crisis

SE-1998-GuadiamarRiver

Spanish Wastewater Spill in Guadiamar River

SE-1998-BleachedCoral

Coral Bleaching Event

SE-1996 bluefin tuna

Eastern Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Classified as Endangered

SE-1991-MEDALUS

Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use Program

SE-1991-MTHaven

MT Haven Tanker Oil Spill

SE-1989 Algal-bloom-event

Algae Tides Make Adriatic Murkier

SE-1987 Smog Athens

Deadly Combination of Heat and Smog in Athens

SE-1985-MonkSeals

Mediterranean Monk Seals Endangered

SE-1984-InvasiveSpecies

Introduction of Invasive Caulerpa taxifolia to Mediterranean

SE-1976-SevesoDisaster

Seveso Disaster

"Habitat Protection, Water — Mediterranean Action Plan"

SE-1970s Red tide

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), Red Tides

SE-1970 Athens

Athens Warned on Air Pollution, NY Times

SE-1966 Via San Remigio, targa alluvione 1333 e 1966

Arno River Floods 

SE-1960 Female Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus), La Lancha, Parque natural de la Sierra de Andújar, Andalucía, España - Flickr - Frank.Vassen

Iberian Lynx Population and Range Declines

SE-1938

First national Parks in Greece

SE-1927-CamargueFLamingos

Camargue Wetlands Protected

SE-1920-ItalyNationalParks

First National Parks in Italy

SE-1890 Ilustração Portugueza, n 131, Lisboa, 24-8-1908 0017 Capra pyrenaica lusitanica (cropped)

Extinction of Portuguese Ibex

SE-1860s Nymphe de Phylloxéra

Great French wine blight comes from New World

SE-1780-Pika

Extinction of the Sardinian Pika

SE-1750 Venice arsenale 2 1724

Deforestation of Europe Drives Colonial Expansion

SE-1669 White ensign Battle martinique 1779 img 9388

“France will perish for want of wood!”

SE-1633 Galileo

Galileo Galilei Accused of Heresy 

Guardi,Francesco - The Departure of Bucentaur for the Lido on Ascension Day

Republic of Venice Deforested for Shipbuilding and Fuel

SE-1492 ColombusMap

Columbus Begins Exchange of Diseases, Species, and Populations

SE-1340s-BlackDeathEcologicalPressure

Black Death Spreads From Central Asia to Europe on the Mediterranean

SE-1340 Great famine

Famine in Italy

SE-1347-BlackDeath

Black Death Relieves Ecological Pressure

SE-1289 Bluefin-big

King Philip IV of France Promulgate's the Country's First Fishing Ordinance

SE-1181-StFrancis

St. Francis & Compassion for Animal Life

SE-1096 Utro v sosnovom lesu

Crusaders Cross the Great Bulgarian Forest

SE-536 Cole Thomas The Course of Empire Destruction 1836

Dust Veil Covers the Northern Hemisphere

SE-535-Justinian

Emperor Justinian Decrees Natural Resources are Collective Property

SE-230-Elephant

North African Elephants Exploited in Colosseum Games

SE-200-Galen-Fish

Galen Cautions Against Eating Fish From Polluted Waters

SE-100 Marble Lion Greece

Lions Extinct in Europe

SE-90-PlutarchVegetarian

Plutarch Advocates Vegetarianism 

SE-77-PlinyPollution

Pliny Laments Water Pollution in Ancient Rome

SE-77 Legislation to protect a fish

Legislation to Protect a Fish Species

SE-61-RomanAirPollution

Pollution in Ancient Rome

SE-0-IvoryDemand

Insatiable Demand for Ivory

SE-BCE0

Massive Numbers of Lions Used in the Arena

SE-BC 19 Tesselated mosaic floor from a Roman villa at Corinth, depicting a pastoral scene, ca. 150 - 200 AD, Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth, Greece (14102816564)

The Poet Virgil Describes Pastoral Use of Controlled Burns 

env-2195-photo-Impact of the Roman Empire on the Environment

Impact Of The Roman Empire On The Environment

SE-BCE29

Lions in Roman Imperial Menageries

SE-BC 80 Colosseum

The Exhibition of Lions

SE-BC 200 Harvesting

Early Soil Management

SE-BCE384

Skeleton Land, Deforestation of Ancient Greece, Plato

SE-BC 387 Plato teaching at the Academy

Sacred Groves

SE-BCE483

Silver Mining at Laurion Causes Deforestation

SE-BD 500 Zeus

Ivory Becomes Popular in Greece

SE-BCE200-Demeter

Mourning Goddess Demeter Brings Winter Famine

SE-BC 800 monk seal

Earliest Description of Now-Extinct Mediterranean Monk Seal in The Odyssey

SE-BC 2000 Ptg on Limestone Minoan Villa

Earliest Mediterranean Cities Drive Environmental Impact

SE-BC 3000 Cave Goat

Extinction of the Balearic Isles Mouse Goat

env-2664-photo-Climatic Shifts in the Mediterranean

Climatic Shifts In The Mediterranean

SE-BC 9100 Chirokitia 2

Oldest Mediterranean Farming Village in Cyprus

SE-BCE30,000-CavePaintings

Cave Paintings at Chauvet Depict Paleolithic Biodiversity

Europe, Southern Europe

Mediterranean Sea

A transitional zone between the European, African and Asian continents, the Mediterranean Sea hosts about 17,000 species of marine life, of which 28% are endemic. Overfishing, pollution, and the effects of climate change have put tremendous strains on the Mediterranean marine environment. The recently issued global Census of Marine Life, assessed the Mediterranean as the most threatened sea in the world. 

Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub

From Portuguese cork forests to the firs of the Italian Apennines, the Mediterranean forest regions in Southern Europe are rich in forest types and their endemic species. While protection of these areas has been prioritized under the European Union’s Habitats Directive, only a fraction of the original forest cover is left, while fires destroy a further 1% per year. 

Apennines, Pyrenees, and the Dinaric Alps

Mountains form the backbone of the Mediterranean region, and contain high levels of biodiversity. The Apennines support the largest Italian populations of wolf and brown bear, while the carst caves of the Dinaric Alps contain the richest diversity of subterranean species in the world. Though pristine areas remain, fragmentation of mountain habitats continues to occur through illegal logging, hunting, winter resorts, and dams.

Danube Delta

The largest wetlands reserve in Europe, the Danube River Delta provides habitat for over 5,000 species and resources for people living in the surrounding Romanian, Ukrainian and Moldavian regions. Though draining and damming for intensive agriculture has led to 20% loss of area, conservation efforts beginning in the 19th century have retained 50% of this wetland, making it one of the best-preserved deltas in Europe. 

Iberian Rangelands and Grasslands

The Iberian Peninsula, the second largest peninsula in Europe, is a unique ecosystem shaped by its long history of pastoralism.  Many endemic species of the Iberian steppe inhabit dry grasslands, including highly endangered species such as the great bustard. The abandonment of traditional land use in favor of urbanisation has in fact put the region at greater risk of desertification.

Key Habitats

Biodiversity Loss

Almost half of plant and animal species, and more than half of the habitats listed in the EU Habitats Directive, occur in Southern Europe. The region has the richest biodiversity in Europe, but according to the IUCN, one in six species living around the Mediterranean are now threatened with extinction, with even greater threat to biodiversity within the Mediterranean sea itself, long subjected to overfishing. 

Forest Fires

Forest fires are one of the most common catastrophes in Southern Europe, especially Greece. About 1% of Southern Europe’s forest burns every year. While the region has a history of forest fires, habitat loss and degradation in the last 50 years—as well as widespread abandonment of traditional agriculture, grazing, and forestry—have reduced the resilience of the region’s remaining forest to fires. 

Climate Change

With its characteristic dry summers along the coastlands, Southern Europe is particularly vulnerable to increases in heat extremes and reduced rainfall. The European Environment Agency (EEA) projected the region will face the continent’s most adverse effects from climate change, impacting biodiversity as well as heat-related mortality and agricultural yields; Italy has already seen a 57% drop in olive oil production tied to climatic changes. 

Desertification

Increased temperatures and less precipitation have made Southern Europe vulnerable to drought, lower crop yields, soil infertility, and reduced water quality. Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania will be particularly affected by desertification, with about 74% of Spain at risk of desertification and 18% at high risk of becoming irreversibly desert. 


Southern Europe