Plastics are the largest, most harmful, and most persistent fraction of marine litter.

Welcome to the second issue of The Tideline - a newsletter curated by AMWAJ - ?????. In this issue, we focus on the challenges and solutions related to water in the Mediterranean region, particularly in the context of plastic pollution.

Water is a crucial resource that is both a challenge and a solution in the Mediterranean region. With climate change, the region is facing more severe droughts and reduced rainfall. Rising sea levels are putting one-third of its population at risk.

Plastic pollution is a growing threat to all ecosystems, and it is the sea that is suffering the most. Plastics are the largest, most harmful, and most persistent fraction of marine litter, accounting for at least 85% of total marine waste. In the Mediterranean, plastic pollution is highly prevalent, accounting for around 95 to 100% of total floating litter and more than 50% of seabed litter.

REVOLVE

Plastic pollution has had severe consequences on human health, ecosystems, and wildlife. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a visible representation of marine debris, but the less visible impacts of plastic chemicals on human health have not been studied in depth. The lack of transparency and regulation in the composition of plastics is a significant issue, with one-quarter of the chemicals present in plastics being of concern.

Read the article written by Marta Castillo Sánchez for REVOLVE .

Tayyarat

Yemen is considered one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. Among the main threats the country faces regarding water resources is groundwater depletion, which adds an important challenge to water and food security.

Read the article written by Maha Al-Salehi for ??? ???? Holm Akhdar .

Tayyarat

A recent study found that rivers absorb 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon per year, making them a valuable player in the global carbon cycle. However, the study warns that rivers are highly vulnerable to environmental change and calls for a global River Observing System (RIOS) to better understand their role in carbon transport and predict the impact of global climate change. Read the article here.

Tayyarat

“Climate change has negatively affected crops, and not one year goes by without the next one being worse.” Abdo, a farmer from Algeria, describes the current situation with these words from his olive mill in the Bouandas district, Sétif, Northeastern Algeria. Read the article to learn the reasons for the decline in olive trees, covered by?Nihal Doweib?from Raseef22 ??????22 .

Dhikraa Podcast

We are delighted to launch the first episode of Dhikraa, a new quarterly podcast series curated by AMWAJ and produced by REVOLVE . This podcast series collects water stories from around the Mediterranean, and aims to spark curiosity and respect for our common Mediterranean culture and our most valuable asset: water ecosystems.

In the first episode of Dhikraa, we had the pleasure of inviting Bint Mbareh, a Palestinian sound-researcher, to talk about communal reverence for water. Bint shared her research and experiences on the widespread feeling of respect and admiration for water in communities in Palestine. She also discussed her curiosity about the superpowers of communal singing and her work with all formats of sound.

Through her research, Bint challenges the myth of water scarcity pushed by Israeli settler colonialism. She provided a unique perspective on the importance of water ecosystems and the cultural significance of water. We are grateful to Bint for sharing her insights with Marta Castillo Sánchez and for being a part of our first Dhikraa episode. We invite you to listen to the first episode of Dhikraa.

Tabadul

To mark this year's World Water Day, AMWAJ hosted the first Tabadul of 2023. The event highlighted data-driven projects that were using creative narratives to drive action in marine ecosystems preservation and against plastic pollution. We are excited to share the highlights of our latest event, where we had the pleasure of hearing from some amazing speakers who shared their work in different fields.

Pedro Fernández Bautista , the Project Manager of MedWaves , spoke about their work as the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Center for sustainable consumption and production (SCP).

Jessica Anderson , the Deputy Director of Visualizing Palestine (VP), discussed their use of data and research to visually communicate Palestinian experiences and provoke narrative change. VP works in partnership with civil society actors to amplify their impact and promote justice and equality.

Fanny Didou , the Graphic Facilitator of Sketching the Move , talked about their initiative which supports dialogue and helps organizations deal with complexity through drawing.

Tatiana Kourochkina , the Co-Founder & President of Quo Artis Foundation , spoke about their international non-profit organization, which seeks to generate connections between art, science and technology.

We hope you found this newsletter informative and inspiring, and we look forward to sharing more updates with you in the future.

Do you cover water and water-related issues in the Mediterranean? Would you like to see your story published here? Contribute to AMWAJ - ????? Tayyarat - ???????, our community space to share stories and opinions! Follow us for more Mediterranean water stories!