scholarly journals An overview of pool and spa regulations in Mediterranean countries with a focus on the tourist industry

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athena Mavridou ◽  
Olga Pappa ◽  
Olga Papatzitze ◽  
Athena Blougoura ◽  
Panagiotis Drossos

The Mediterranean area is densely populated and a very popular tourist destination. This study aimed at gathering up-to-date information on current national pool and spa regulations. We formulated and duly distributed to 20 Mediterranean countries a questionnaire divided into two sections: for pool and spa facilities, respectively. The questionnaire was formulated in such a way that a positive answer would imply that the specific topic was addressed effectively. While all 20 countries responded to the swimming-pool-related questionnaire, only 11 of these countries reported the existence of spa-related regulations. When combining the response overall of all countries for pool and spa facilities together, of a grand total of 606 answers, 183 (30.2%) were positive. The positive answers in the pool section of the questionnaire were 29% of the total of 420 answers while positive answers in the spa section of the questionnaire were fewer (27.8% of the total of 176 answers). The countries were grouped by geographical area of the Mediterranean basin where they are situated. Also, the questions were grouped into broad thematic categories. The paper presents conclusions drawn on the basis of the data received according to these geographical and thematic groupings.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianela Fader ◽  
Carlo Giupponi ◽  
Selmin Burak ◽  
Hamouda Dakhlaoui ◽  
Aristeidis Koutroulis ◽  
...  

<p>The presentation will summarize the main findings of the chapter “Water”[1] of the report “Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future”. This report was published in November 2020 and prepared by 190 scientists from 25 countries, who belong to the scientific network “Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change”.</p><p>Water resources in the Mediterranean are scarce, unevenly distributed and often mismatching human and environmental needs. Approx. 180 million people in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries suffer from water scarcity (<1000 m<sup>3</sup> capita<sup>-1</sup> yr<sup>-1</sup>). The main water use is for agriculture, and more specifically on the southern and eastern rim. Water demand for both tourism and agriculture peak in summer, potentially enhancing conflicts in the future. Municipal water use is particularly constrained in the south and will likely be exacerbated in the future by demographic and migration phenomena. Northern countries face additional risks in flood prone areas where urban settlements are rapidly increasing.</p><p>Climate change, in combination with demographic and socio-economic developments, has mainly negative consequences for the water cycle in the Mediterranean Basin, including reduced runoff and groundwater recharge, increased crop water requirements, increased conflicts among users, and increased risk of overexploitation and degradation. These impacts will be particularly severe for global warming higher than 2°C.</p><p>Adequate water supply and demand management offers some options to cope with risks. Technical solutions are available for improving water use efficiency and productivity, and increasing reuse. Seawater desalination is increasingly used as adaptation measure to reduce (potable) water scarcity in dry Mediterranean countries, despite known drawbacks in terms of environmental impacts and energy requirements. Promising solar technologies are under development, potentially reducing emissions and costs. Reuse of wastewater is a solution for agriculture and industrial activities but also recharge of aquifers. Inter-basin transfers may lead to controversies and conflicts. Construction of dams contributes to the reduction of water and energy scarcities, but with trade-offs in terms of social and environmental impacts.</p><p>Overall, water demand management, which increases water use efficiency and reduces water losses, is crucial for water governance for a sustainable development. Maintaining Mediterranean diet or coming back to it on the basis of locally produced foods and reducing food wastes may save water but also carbon emissions while having nutritional and health benefits.</p><div><br><div> <p>[1] <strong>Fader M.</strong>, Giupponi C., Burak S., Dakhlaoui H., Koutroulis A., Lange M.A., Llasat M.C., Pulido-Velazquez D., Sanz-Cobeña A. (2020): Water. In: Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future. First Mediterranean Assessment Report [Cramer W, Guiot J, Marini K (eds.)] Union for the Mediterranean, Plan Bleu, UNEP/MAP, Marseille, France, 57pp, in press. Download</p> </div> </div>


2011 ◽  
pp. 2380-2397
Author(s):  
Marco De Maggio ◽  
Pasquale Del Vecchio ◽  
Gianluca Elia ◽  
Francesca Grippa

The rising of the knowledge economy, enhanced by the fast diffusion of ICTs, drives a wider perspective on the divide among Countries, interpreting it more and more as the result of an asymmetry in the access to knowledge and in the readiness to apply it in order to renew the basics of their development dynamics. Looking at the Mediterranean Area, the positive correlation between the Networked Readiness Index and the Global Competitive Index developed at Global Economic Forum – INSEAD, shows that the opposite sides of the Mediterranean Sea are performing a development path at two different paces. In the effort to face the challenge of supporting the creation of Intellectual Capital able to apply, diffuse and benefit from e-business, in 2005 the e-Business Management Section (eBMS) of Scuola Superiore ISUFI – University of Salento launched the “Mediterranean School of e-Business Management”. The present work aims to offer a presentation of its genesis, its most distinctive features, operational model and action plan. The preliminary results of its activities show the role and the main challenges of the School in addressing the needs of the Mediterranean Countries towards a logic of partnership for the development of their Intellectual assets.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 3583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Torres-Bagur ◽  
Anna Ribas ◽  
Josep Vila-Subirós

Decreasing water availability and growing demands due to climate change and increasing tourist numbers in the Mediterranean basin are likely to result in worsening conflicts between socioeconomic sectors that depend on water to survive. We conducted 19 in-depth interviews with hotel owners and managers in the Muga river basin (Girona, north-east Spain) to analyze their use of water-saving measures and explore perceived incentives and barriers. Hotel size, category, and year of construction/renovation were all directly associated with the implementation or lack of implementation of certain measures. The hoteliers did not perceive any strong incentives to adopt water-saving measures, but there were clear indications of cost and technical barriers and a lack of awareness about possible options. Efforts are clearly needed to improve incentives and increase awareness and knowledge about water-saving measures among hoteliers in this part of the Mediterranean basin, where water is a necessary resource for the tourist industry and many other sectors.


Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 171
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Timpanaro ◽  
Mariarita Cammarata ◽  
Arturo Urso

In this study, we built a basic scenario for risk assessment of the introduction of Xantomonas citri (X. citri), an agent of bacterial citrus canker, through international trade activities. According to the international phytosanitary authority European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), X. citri is currently included in the European Union A1 list (quarantine pests not present in the area) of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Therefore, at the moment, to counter the spread of X. citri, some pest-specific phytosanitary requirements are foreseen in the case of citrus fruit commercial activities. One possible introduction route is through some ornamental Rutaceae, which are widely cultivated in Mediterranean countries, where they are economically important and have a social impact on the employees involved and the related industries. To assess the risk of introducing X. citri, we distinguished the import and export territories and the type of import material, and formulated a basic hypothesis linked to the positive correlation between commercial dependence on citrus imports from countries of the Mediterranean Basin and potential risk of invasion.


Author(s):  
Corrado Girmenia ◽  
Martina Canichella ◽  
Alessandra Serrao

Infections by Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), in particular carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKp), are a significant public health challenge worldwide. Resistance to carbapenems in enterobacteriaceae is linked to different mechanisms, in particular the production of different types of enzymes including KPC, VIM, IMP, NDM, and OXA-48. Despite several attempts to control the spread of these infections at local and national level, epidemiological situation for CRKp had worsened in the last years in the Mediterranean area. The rate and types of CRKp isolates greatly differ in the various Mediterranean countries. KPC-producing K.pneumoniae is diffused particularly in the European countries bordering the Mediterranean sea and is actually endemic in Greece and Italy. On the contrary, OXA-48-producing K.pneumoniae is endemic in Turkey and Malta, and diffused at inter-regional level particularly in some north African and Middle East countries. The spread of these multiresistant pathogens in the world and the Mediterranean countries has been related to various epidemiological factors including the international transfer of patients coming from endemic areas. 


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilde Eizaguirre ◽  
Argyro A. Fantinou

Organisms inhabiting seasonal environments are able to synchronize their life cycles with seasonal cycles of biotic and abiotic factors. Diapause, a state of low metabolic activity and developmental arrest, is used by many insect species to cope with adverse conditions.Sesamia nonagrioidesis a serious pest of corn in the Mediterranean regions and Central Africa. It is multivoltine, with two to four generations per year, that overwinters as mature larva in the northern of the Sahara desert. Our purpose was to compare the response of theS. nonagrioidespopulations occurring in the broader circum-Mediterranean area, with particular attention to the diapause period and the different numbers of generations per season. To this end, we tried to determine whether populations in the area differ in their response to photoperiod and whether we can foresee the number of generations in different areas. We present a model for predicting the occurrence of the critical photoperiod according to latitude and temperature and the spread ofS. nonagrioidesin the circum-Mediterranean countries. Responses of populations to short-day length suggest that the spread of the species is associated with a gradual loss of diapause in the southern areas, and that diapause incidence is positively correlated with latitude.


2006 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 333-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ll. Fita ◽  
R. Romero ◽  
C. Ramis

Abstract. A large number of high impact cyclones all over the Mediterranean basin have been reported on the data base of the MEDEX project (http://medex.inm.uib.es). A numerical study on the impacts and interactions of baroclinic and diabatic factors is carried out through a PV-based system of prognostic equations for 11 intense MEDEX cyclone episodes occurred in different zones of the basin (Western, Central and Eastern Mediterranean). The main aim of the study is to investigate the possible similarities and differences among the selected cases of the relative weight of the considered cyclogenetic factors on the cyclone evolutions as function of cyclone type and geographical area. A crucial role of the baroclinicity over the Mediterranean zone is obtained in most of the cases. A certain distinction can be also established in terms of the cyclogenesis areas (Africa, Mediterranean Sea, and Alpine region), and between west-central and eastern Mediterranean basins. It is generally observed that the considered baroclinic and diabatic factors cooperate most strongly for the cyclone deepening process when the disturbance reaches the Mediterranean sea.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arianna Facchi ◽  

<p>In the Mediterranean basin, rice is cultivated over an area of 1,300,000 hectares. The most important rice-producing countries are Italy and Spain in Europe (72% of the EU production; 345,000 ha), and Egypt and Turkey among the extra-EU countries (almost totality of the production; 789,000 ha). Traditionally, rice is grown under continuous flooding; thus, it requires more water than non-ponded crops. On the other hand, rice is strategic for food security in some countries such as Egypt, and human consumption in the whole Mediterranean is steadily increasing.</p><p>The MEDWATERICE project (PRIMA-Section 2-2018; https://www.medwaterice.org/), which started in April 2019, aims to explore the sustainability of innovative rice irrigation methods and technologies in the Mediterranean basin, in order to reduce rice water use and environmental impacts, and to extend rice cultivation outside of traditional paddy areas to meet the growing demand. The MEDWATERICE consortium includes universities, research centres and private companies operating in the Mediterranean area (IT, ES, PT, EG, TR, IL). Case studies (CSs) are implemented in pilot farms of the countries involved in the project. Tested alternative irrigation methods and technologies adopted in each CS are being tailored to local conditions using a participatory action research approach through the establishment of Stake-Holder Panels in each country, which include regional authorities, water managers, farmers’ associations and consultants, and private companies of the rice production chain. Irrigation strategies experimented in the pilot farms and compared to the continuous flooding (considered as the ‘reference’ irrigation method in all CSs), are: dry seeding and delayed flooding, alternate wetting and drying, lengthening of drying periods, reduction in irrigation inflow/outflow, hybrid irrigation, multi-nozzle sprinkler irrigation, surface and sub-surface drip irrigation, and waste-water reuse through sub-surface drip irrigation. For each irrigation solution, innovative technologies and the most appropriate rice varieties and agronomic practices are tested to minimize impacts of irrigation water reduction on yield quantity and quality. Data collected at the farm level are extrapolated to the irrigation district level to support water management decisions and policies. Indicators for quantitative assessment of environmental, economic and social sustainability of the irrigation options are also being defined. Outcomes produced by MEDWATERICE are expected to generate knowledge on how to improve sustainability of rice production in the countries of the Mediterranean area, with particular attention to the adoption of water-saving techniques.</p><p>During the conference, approaches and methodologies adopted and developed within the project, and results obtained so far will be presented, with particular attention to the experimentation conducted in the pilot farms, to the methods for the upscaling the achievements to the irrigation district scale, and to the set of indicators for quantifying economic, environmental and social sustainability of irrigation methods and technologies currently under definition.</p>


Web Ecology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ragusa ◽  
H. Tsolakis

Abstract. Notes on the adaptation to various habitats, climatic conditions, life-cycles, dispersion as well as on some morpho-physiological ones of the main phytophagous (Tetranychidae and Eriophyidae) and predaceous (Phytoseiidae) mites typical of the Mediterranean area are reported in the present paper.


1982 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen L. Dyson

The aim of this article is to describe and discuss the use of archaeological survey in the Mediterranean area during recent decades. Emphasis will be placed on research conducted since World War II, and I will concentrate primarily on Greece and the Western Mediterranean. In this context, surveys centering on later prehistoric and historic periods will receive most attention. Note that even within these areas of concentration, this article cannot claim to be exhaustive. It is my intention to discuss the highlights of this rapidly developing field.


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