The Mediterranean Sea Basin as a Single Ecosystem: Problems and Prospects for International Cooperation

The article justifies that the Mediterranean Basin in the broad sense (Mediterranean, Black, Azov and Marmara Seas) is a single ecosystem. The state of this ecosystem is affected by the rivers of this water intake basin, among them - the Nile, Tiber, Po, Rhone, Ebro, Danube, Don and others. The interconnection of the individual elements of the ecosystem is ensured through active water exchange and a sufficiently branched system of currents that turn the inland seas of the Mediterranean basin into communicating vessels. The paper analyzes the main anthropogenic factors, as well as the influence of climate changes on the ecological condition of the Mediterranean ecosystem. Within the framework of anthropogenic impact, special attention is paid to the negative impact of urbanization, the oil industry (production, transportation and oil refining), industrial and agricultural waste, as well as runoff waters. The problem of plastic, as well as contamination with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is discussed in detail. Analysis of DDT accumulations in the bottom sediments of the Mediterranean basin makes it possible to study the synchronization of anthropogenic processes and their long-term nature. Aridization (intensification of droughts) in the Mediterranean is shown as an important problem for the regional ecology, not directly related to the anthropogenic factor. The article reveals the disastrous effects of increasing droughts and climate change on Mediterranean basin countries. International cooperation to regulate transboundary environmental problems in the region is associated with a number of problems. Among them is the delimitation of sea zones between countries, first of all - the territorial claims of Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean. The problem of the shelf around the Serpents’ Island in the Black Sea is also considered, as well as territorial disputes in the Western Mediterranean (France/Spain). The paper widely presents successful cases of cross-boundary cooperation: the 1976 RAMOGE Agreement, the 1975 Mediterranean Action Plan and the 1995 Barcelona Convention, as well as its seven protocols. The cases of PEGASO and 4GreenInn projects, as well as the BSEC environmental projects, are considered as successful examples of cross-border academic cooperation. Promising areas of cooperation are outlined and the conclusion is made about the importance of transboundary environmental risk management, despite the political differences between the Mediterranean countries and the EU sanctions restrictions on Russia after 2014.