Objective To produce "policy-relevant" methods of diagnosis and analysis ofimminent and potential threats to the environment, involving lossof sustainability through land degradation and desertification.A comparison between four regions representing a number ofdifferent conditions under which degradation and desertificationhave occurred and are likely to occur with different intensitieswill be made. An Integrated Evolutionary (complex systems)Framework for the evolution and understanding of the social,political and environmental factors contributing to environmentaldegradation and potential desertification, will be thendeveloped. The following case-studies are selected.The Vera Basin, in Southeastern Spain, is badly degraded to thepoint that badlands dominate and very little vegetation is left.Here, studies will be undertaken to develop methods to look atthe temporalities in the physical and anthropogenic processesinvolved in a succession of phases ofdegradation/desertification, with a view to a betterunderstanding of the concept sustainability.The Argolid in the Southern Peloponnese in Greece, is an areawhere water (mis)management is responsible for the spectre ofrapid and total degradation in the vary near future. This studyfocuses on human decision-making on the micro-scale, and notablyon the dynamics between short-term and long-term perception anddecision- making in the context of the choice between individualadvantage and the common good. Here, dynamical models ofhydrology and water management of present-day farmers'perceptionsand decision making with respect to water management, which canserve to help policy implementation will be developed.Epirus, in the Northwest Greece, is a region in which thedifferential impact of tectonics plays and where the differencebetween long-term and short-term processes comes to the forcefrom an environmental perspective. Here, studies on long-termlocal climate/erosion sequence will be undertaken and a dynamicalmodel of the tectonics of the area, and their relation to landuse, degradation and desertification will be developed.In the southern part of the Rhône Basin in France, a region isstudied which is potentially, but not actually, affected bydegradation and possibly desertification to a great extent as aresult of a recent macro-scale expansion of tourism, industry andtransport. Here, the study will be focused on identifyingperceived environmental factors influencing sustainablelocational choices under different (past) exploitation regimes inthe area. A GIS map, identifying degradation-sensitive areasunder different climatological regimes, and a qualitativedynamical model identifying some of the main factors involved inurban development and the consequent anthropogenic environmentaldegradation will be also produced. Fields of science natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesphysical geographycartographygeographic information systemsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologyengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringnatural resources managementwater management Programme(s) FP3-ENV 1C - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the field of the environment, 1990-1994 Topic(s) 0403 - Desertification in the Mediterranean area Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme CSC - Cost-sharing contracts Coordinator University of Cambridge Address Downing street CB2 3EZ Cambridge United Kingdom See on map EU contribution € 0,00 Participants (7) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all Agricultural University of Athens Greece EU contribution € 0,00 Address 75,iera odos 75 11855 Athens See on map Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) France EU contribution € 0,00 Address 250 avenue albert einstein sophia antipolis 06560 Valbonne See on map Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) France EU contribution € 0,00 Address 13 rue dufour 75006 Paris See on map Cranfield University United Kingdom EU contribution € 0,00 Address Cranfield MK43 0AL Bedford See on map Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) France EU contribution € 0,00 Address Route de thiverval 78850 Thiverval-grignon See on map Stiching Regionaal Archeologisch Archiverings Projekt Netherlands EU contribution € 0,00 Address 14,plantage muidergracht 1018 TV Amsterdam See on map Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona Spain EU contribution € 0,00 Address 08193 Barcelona See on map