Introduction: Desertification in the Mediterranean Region: Linking Environmental Condition to Security. -- INTRODUCTION: DESERTIFICATION AND SECURITY Perspectives for the Mediterranean Region -- DESERTIFICATION - A NEW SECURITY CHALLENGE FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN? Policy agenda for recognising and coping with fatal outcomes of global environmental change and potentially violent societal consequences -- THE POSEIDON PRAIRIE Desertification, Environmental Stress, and the Euro-Mediterranean Space -- DESERTIFICATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY. THE CASE OF CONFLICTS BETWEEN FARMERS AND HERDERS IN THE ARID ENVIRONMENTS OF THE SAHEL -- THE RELEVANCE AND CONSEQUENCES OF MEDITERRANEAN DESERTIFICATION INCLUDING SECURITY ASPECTS -- Mediterranean Regional Perspective on Assessment and Condition -- PROBLEMATIQUE DE LA DESERTIFICATION EN ALGERIE: ETAT ET MESURES DE LUTTE POUR LA PROTECTION DES RESSOURCES NATURELLES -- SECURITY IMPACTS OF DESERTIFICATION IN EGYPT -- THE CHALLENGES OF LAND AND WATER RESOURCES DEGRADATION IN JORDAN: DIAGNOSIS AND SOLUTIONS -- DRYLAND DEVELOPMENT, DESERTIFICATION AND SECURITY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN -- STATE OF NATURAL RESOURCES DEGRADATION IN MOROCCO AND PLAN OF ACTION FOR DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT CONTROL -- DESERTIFICATION, TERRITORY AND PEOPLE, A HOLISTIC APPROACH IN THE PORTUGUESE CONTEXT -- MIGRATION: AN IRREVERSIBLE IMPACT OF LAND DEGRADATION IN TURKEY -- Assessing Land Use Change Relative to Anthropogenic and Natural Cause -- DOES ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES OR NATURE DOMINATE THE SHAPING OF THE LANDSCAPE IN THE OREGON PILOT STUDY AREA FOR 1990-1999? -- URBAN GROWTH DYNAMICS (1956-1998) IN MEDITERRANEAN COASTAL REGIONS: THE CASE OF ALICANTE, SPAIN -- LAND USE CHANGE DETECTION AS A BASIS FOR ANALYSING DESERTIFICATION PROCESSES: A CASE STUDY IN TABERNAS (ALMERIA, SPAIN) -- CLIMATE CHANGE, LAND DEGRADATION, AND DESERTIFICATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT -- Regional Cooperation and Information Sharing -- THE ENVIRONMENT AND SECURITY INITIATIVE: TRANSFORMING RISKS INTO OPPORTUNITIES FOR CO-OPERATION -- Fostering networking and exchange of information in the Mediterranean region: The MEDCOASTLAND Thematic Network1 -- DESERTIFICATION IN THE ARID AND SEMIARID MEDITERRANEAN REGIONS. A FOOD SECURITY ISSUE -- Soil and Vegetation Monitoring -- MONITORING TOOLS TO ASSESS VEGETATION SUCCESSIONAL REGRESSION AND PREDICT CATASTROPHIC SHIFTS AND DESERTIFICATION IN MEDITERRANEAN RANGELAND ECOSYSTEMS -- USING A GIS FOR SUSTAINABLE USE AND MANAGEMENT OF AN IRRIGATION AREA IN THE SPANISH - PORTUGUESE BORDER THREATENED BY DESERTIFICATION -- RESTORATION OF BURNED AREAS IN FOREST MANAGEMENT PLANS -- IMPACT OF FOREST FIRES ON HYDROLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF A TYPICAL MEDITERRANEAN FOREST SOIL -- MANAGEMENT OF FOREST SOILS CONSIDERING WATER EROSION AS A CONTROL FACTOR -- Desertification Indicators and Forecasting Techniques -- ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS AND INDICATORS OF DESERTIFICATION -- DESERTIFICATION IN NORTHERN MOROCCO DUE TO EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON GROUNDWATER RECHARGE -- HYDROLOGICAL APPROACH FOR ASSESSING DESERTIFICATION PROCESSES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION -- THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE FUTURES IN A STRATEGY TO ASSESS THE LIKELIHOOD OF LAND DEGRADATION LEADING TO INCREASED SUBSEQUENT POLITICAL INSTABILITY. Desertification in the Mediterranean Region: a Security Issue 1 2 William G. Kepner & José Luis Rubio 1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, P.O. Box 93478, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 89193-3478 (kepner.william@epa.gov) 2. Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificacion-CIDE, (CSIC, Universitat de Valencia, Generalitat Valenciana),Cami de la Marjal, s/n Apartado Oficial, 46470 Albal, Valencia, Spain (jose.l.rubio@uv.es) Security issues related to desertification in the Mediterranean Region were the subject of a special NATO workshop held on 2-5 December 2003 at the Museum of Sciences Principe Felipe in Valencia, Spain. This workshop was organized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA), Centre for Desertification Research (Valencia, Spain), and the Desert Research Institute (Reno, Nevada, USA) on behalf of the NATO Science Committee and the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (Public Diplomacy Division). Additionally, the European Society for Soil Conservation participated as a collaborating institution. Other participating institutions included the Spanish Ministry of Environment, Generalitat Valencia (Department of Territory and Housing), the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the City of Art & Sciences of Valencia which hosted the Meeting.