The Mediterranean : environment and society

Description

This book addresses contemporary geographical issues in the Mediterranean Basin from a perspective that recognizes the physical characteristics and cultural interactions which link the different Mediterranean states as a recognisable geographic entity. Sixteen chapters each deal with a major geographical issue currently facing the Mediterranean, each providing an invaluable summary of the extensive but widely dispersed literature relating to Mediterranean issues. Particular emphasis is placed on the interaction between society and environment in terms of environmental management, differential regional development and its associated political, demographic, cultural and economic tensions.  Read more... Abstract: This book addresses contemporary geographical issues in the Mediterranean Basin from a perspective that recognizes the physical characteristics and cultural interactions which link the different Mediterranean states as a recognisable geographic entity. Sixteen chapters each deal with a major geographical issue currently facing the Mediterranean, each providing an invaluable summary of the extensive but widely dispersed literature relating to Mediterranean issues. Particular emphasis is placed on the interaction between society and environment in terms of environmental management, differential regional development and its associated political, demographic, cultural and economic tensions Content: Ch. 1. Introduction : an essay on Mediterraneanism / Russell King -- ch. 2. Geological evolution of the Mediterranean Basin / Alastair Ruffell -- ch. 3. Mediterranean climate / Allen Perry -- ch. 4. Earth surface processes in the Mediterranean / Helen Rendell -- ch. 5. The Graeco-Roman Mediterranean / Lindsay Proudfoot -- ch. 6. The Mediterranean in the medieval and Renaissance world / Brian Graham -- ch. 7. The Ottoman Mediterranean and its transformation, ca. 1800-1920 / Lindsay Proudfoot -- ch. 8. Politics and society in the Mediterranean basin / Nurit Kliot -- ch. 9. Mediterranean economies : the dynamics of uneven development / Michael Dunford -- ch. 10. The European Union's Mediterranean policy : from pragmatism to partnership / Alun Jones -- ch. 11. Population growth : an avoidable crisis? Russell King -- ch. 12. Five narratives for the Mediterranean city / Lila Leontidou -- ch. 13. The modernisation of Mediterranean agriculture / Jeff Pratt and Don Funnell -- ch. 14. Tourism and uneven development in the Mediterranean / Allan Williams -- ch. 15. Water : a critical resource / Bernard Smith -- ch. 16. Forests, soils and the threat of desertification / Hazel Faulkner and Alan Hill -- ch. 17. Coastal zone management / George Dardis and Bernard Smith -- ch. 18. Conclusion : from the past to the future of the Mediterranean / Lindsay Proudfoot and Bernard Smith.