Water and Biodiversity: One Future for the Mediterranean

This is one of the principles shared by the One Water Italy Committee and CIHEAM Bari, and a thread running through the agenda of the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum: water and biodiversity are deeply connected.
The Mediterranean is home to 10% of the planet's species on just 1.6% of the Earth's surface — and it is warming 20% faster than the global average. These figures alone tell the story of a region under extraordinary pressure, where the health of ecosystems and the availability of water are two sides of the same coin.
The data collected through the joint regional consultations held by the One Water Italy Committee, CIHEAM Bari and the Arab Water Council in 2025 paint a stark picture:

• 6.5 billion m³ — the Mediterranean's annual structural water deficit
• Less than 500 m³ of renewable water per capita in most member countries, against a global average of 5,000
• 80% of water withdrawals go to producing food — making optimising agricultural water use one of the region's most urgent priorities
• Ecosystems classified as "Severely Degraded" in Syria, Libya, and Palestine; "At Risk" in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Lebanon
• 60% of Arab cities face high hydro-climatic risk
• By 2050, up to 40% of regional water demand will depend on unconventional sources

The WEFE Nexus: Where Water Meets Biodiversity
The reference framework is the WEFE Nexus — Water, Energy, Food, Ecosystems. The final "E" is not symbolic: it is the recognition that every decision taken on water is, simultaneously, a decision on biodiversity. Managing a river basin, designing a desalination plant, or planning irrigation infrastructure all have direct consequences on the living systems that surround them.
Five areas of work are already underway within this framework:

• Nature-based solutions integrated into water infrastructure
• Wastewater reuse with rigorous environmental safeguards
• Desalination powered by renewables
• Unified governance of transboundary basins and aquifers
• Digital early warning systems to protect both people and ecosystems

Toward Rome 2026
The Forum represents a unique opportunity to build a shared regional vision — one in which water security and biodiversity protection are not treated as separate agendas, but as a single, indivisible challenge.