Rural and Resources

Indicator 9b : 

Definition: The IUCN Green List is one of the flagship initiatives included in the MSSD to measure the effectiveness of the protected areas management in the Mediterranean region. The IUCN ‘Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas’ (GLPCA) is a global programme to encourage, achieve and promote effective, equitable and successful protected and conserved areas. To be added to the Green List, protected and conserved areas have to show that they meet the indicators of the GLPCA Standard by means of an independent evaluation.

The « pilot phase » of the Green List Programme began in 2013, to test the Green List in 8 countries including France, Italy and Spain. The second phase of the Programme, called « Development phase » began in mid-2015.

Precautions / Notes: At the moment, only a few Mediterranean countries are concerned by the IUCN Green List Programme, which was launched in 2013. The map and graph summarize the situation of all Green List sites of the Mediterranean countries (except 3 overseas French sites). The analysis should be focused on Mediterranean sites but there are only few at the moment.

Sources: International Union for Conservation of Nature, Green List areas, 2021. International Union for Conservation of Nature, centre for Mediterranean cooperation, Annual report 2021.

Rural and Resources

Indicator 10 : Official development assistance and public expenditure on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems (SDG Indicator 15.a.1)

Definition: SDG Indicator 15.a.1 deals with official development assistance and public expenditure on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems. The goal is to mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems.

Development assistance and public expenditure for biodiversity and ecosystem protection vary largely across time and space. These variations can be explained by the fact that funding is made available mostly on a project basis which is limited in time. Thus, large budgets can be available for a country during a limited period of time but are usually not sustained in the long term.
In 2020, total official development assistance for biodiversity received in the Mediterranean region (9 countries) was about 459 million constant 2020 US dollars (in 2018 it was about 350 million constant 2018 US dollars), equivalent to 1.4 dollars per capita (1.1 dollars per capita in 2018).
Tunisia received about a quarter of this amount (129 million of dollars), equivalent to 10.60 dollars per capita, and The Syrian Arab Republic received about 4.7 million dollars (0.04 dollars per capita). 
5 EU Mediterranean countries are donors for about 1.483 million US dollars (in 2020) and the amount for France accounts for 58 % (867 million dollars).

Precautions / Notes:  This indicator is available for recipient countries and for donor countries. The information shown for the monitoring of this indicator refers to the “Total official development assistance for biodiversity”.
The official development assistance for biodiversity is covered by irregular time series and needs to be analyzed over a period of time. 
The current data does not allow us to make an assessment of the spatial distribution of funds in comparison to the spatial distribution of pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems (are the funds allocated at the right places?). 
This indicator should be further explored and improved with additional information in order to allow deducting indications about the effectiveness of the funds (what level of protection is achieved with the available amounts?) and to be able to assess the capacity of the available funding to safeguard Mediterranean ecosystems and biodiversity (are the amounts sufficient?).

Source: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Creditor Reporting System database, 2020.

Rural and Resources

Indicator 11 : Global Food Security Index 

Definition:The 1996 World Food Summit defined food security as the state in which « all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life ».
The Global Food Security Index (GFSI) was developed by the experts of the Economist Intelligence Unit in order to measure food security considering 3 core issues: affordability, availability and quality of food: 

• Affordability measures « the ability of consumers to purchase food ». 

• Availability measures « the sufficiency of the national food supply».

 • Quality and safety measures « the variety and nutritional quality of average diets, as well as the safety of food ».

Analytical part :

Physical access to food products depends on their availability as well as their affordability. However physical access is not sufficient to guarantee food security, which also depends on the quality of people’s diet.
Good or satisfactory levels of food security have been reached mainly in the North. Nevertheless, external food dependency is still important in the South and East. Limited natural resources (available water and soil resources), population growth and climate change pressures (more severe drought and storms) are preventing self-sufficiency. Moreover regional conflicts threaten national stability (internal production and international trades) and price volatility can harm vulnerable economies with limited public finances. 
In 2022, in most Mediterranean countries (except in France, Spain, Israel, Italy, Greece), food affordability rates are higher than availability rate. In these countries, improving food production and farmers income is necessary for better food security. On the contrary, where food affordability is lower, improving employment and income should have a positive effect on food security. 
Food quality is also an issue in the Mediterranean area, due to several factors, such as poor access to potable water, low diet diversification, progressive abandonment of the traditional Mediterranean diet, or lack of nutrients in people’s diet.: 

Precautions / Notes: Data is available for 11 Mediterranean countries.
Across all indicators used for the construction of the Global Food Security Index, where data is missing, the Economist Intelligence Unit has estimated the scores. The global calculation methodology of the indexes changed from 2019, and comparison must be done with care.

Source: Global Food Security Index, The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2022.

Rural and Resources

Indicator 12 : Level of water stress : freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources (SDG Indicator 6.4.2)
Definition : SDG Indicator 6.42: The level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources is the ratio between total freshwater withdrawal by all major sectors and total renewable freshwater resources, after taking into account environmental water requirements. Main sectors, as defined by International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) standards, include agriculture; forestry and fishing; manufacturing; electricity industry; and services. This indicator is also known as water withdrawal intensity.

Analytical part :

SDG Target 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity. The total renewable water resources in the Mediterranean region amount to 1,085,24 Km3 (Aquastat database. FAO, 2019). The distribution and availability of these freshwater resources are uneven between the sub-regions of the Mediterranean, as 80% are located in the Northern sub-region, 20% in the South and the East part of the Mediterranean, of which 19.4 % in Turkey or France. The range of the water stress in the Mediterranean countries is wide: from 10% (even less)  in the Balkans to 100% and more in the Southern countries. In Libya, the water stress is over 817% (more than 8 times the available resources). The situations within countries are also very diverse, it is essential to provide a clear picture of the Mediterranean watersheds, which requires data from national institutions.

Precautions / Notes: Differences might occur due to the following, amongst others: For national estimates incoming water is counted as being part of the country’s available water resources, while global estimates can only be done by adding up the internal renewable water resources (water generated within the country) of all countries in order to avoid double counting.
Non official withdrawals, especially for agriculture use which could represent a large part of the total withdrawals, are not considered

Source: FAO. 2020. AQUASTAT Main Database - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Global SDG Database, 2020 update.

Rural and Resources

Indicator 13 : Water withdrawal per capita in 2019

Definition: Total water demand is defined as the sum of the volume of water mobilized to meet the various uses, including the quantities lost in production, transport and use of water. It corresponds to the sum of the water withdrawals, of non-conventional production (desalination, reuse of water, etc.) and of imports less exports. 
Water productivity is an indication only of the efficiency by which each country uses its water resources. Given the different economic structure of each country, this indicator should be used carefully, taking into account a country's sectorial activities and natural resource endowments.

Analytical part :

Water use has been increasing worldwide by about 1% per year since the 1980s and Agriculture (including irrigation, livestock and aquaculture) is by far the largest water consumer, accounting for around 70% of annual water withdrawals globally. Industry (including power generation) accounts for around 20% and households for around 10%.
Better water demand management, especially for agriculture, is one of the priority actions recommended by the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development. This means stabilizing water demand (decrease in the north and a controlled increase in the south and the east). 
Moreover, the water demand and the growth in GDP should also be decoupled by increasing the water productivity. From 2002 to 2019, only 40 % of the Mediterranean countries have increased their water productivity. In 2019, 5 countries were over 100 dollars per cubic meter whereas 12 countries remained under 50 dollars. 
The share of water for agriculture remains high, often higher than 50% in half of the Mediterranean countries and between 83 and 87% in The Syrian Arab Republic, Morocco, Türkiye, Libya. In some Balkan countries and in France the relative water demand for agriculture is low. 
The share of water for industry stays low, less than 20% in most countries. Except in Slovenia (81%) and France (69%, mainly for cooling water) have the highest rates.
Mediterranean water withdrawals will be increasingly affected by climate change in multiple ways. Sustainable management of water resources, already under severe pressure in the region, will be more challenging. That could lead to major threats for societies as risks for energy production, food security, economic development and social inequalities. 

Precautions / Notes: The most recent year available for each country was kept. Water withdrawals are used as estimates of water demand when water demand data is not available in international sources. Support from national institutions dealing with water is required to improve data collection and allow refining the indicator for the Mediterranean watersheds. 
For agriculture, the indicator could be refined by calculating the ratio between irrigation water demand and the value added of irrigated production.

Source:  Food and Agriculture Organization-Aquastat, Main Database, 2020; UNWATER: UN World Water Development Report 2020: Water and climate change.
 

Rural and Resources

Indicator 14 : Proportion of population (in %) using safely managed drinking water service (SDG Indicator 6.1.1)

Definition : SDG Indicator 6.1.1: Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services is currently being measured by the proportion of population using an improved basic drinking water source which is located on premises, available when needed and free of fecal (and priority chemical) contamination. ‘Improved’ drinking water sources include: piped water into dwelling, yard or plot; public taps or standpipes; boreholes or tubewells; protected dug wells; protected springs; packaged water; delivered water and rainwater.

Analytical part :

- SDG Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.  
- The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene is in charge of the data compilation for this indicator in continuation of the Millennium Development Goals.  
- In 2020, 74% (71% in 2017) of the global population (5.8 billion people) used a safely managed drinking water service; that is, one located on premises, available when needed and free from contamination.  
- Estimates for the proportion of population using safely managed drinking water are available for around 125 countries.

Estimates are available only for 16 countries in the Mediterranean region and there is no data for most of the Southern and Eastern countries. 
Among the 16 countries where data is available, 96% to 100% of 8 countries' population have access to safely managed drinking water services in 2020.
Lebanon is the country the most at risk since only 48% of the population has access to safely managed drinking water services in 2020.

Precautions / Notes: With regards to the years 2000, 2010 and 2017 the data shows the proportion of population (in thousands of inhabitant) without access to safely managed drinking water service while with regards to 2020 the data shows the proportion of population (in %) using safely managed drinking water service.
In order to meet the standard for safely managed drinking water, a household must use an improved source type that meets three criteria:
- the facility should be accessible on premises (located within the dwelling, yard or plot); 
- Water should be available when needed (sufficient water in the last week or available for at least 12 hours per day); 
- Water supplied should be free from contamination (compliant with standards for fecal and priority chemical contamination). 
Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) updates have also highlighted inequalities between rural and urban areas, between rich and poor, and between other groups and the general population

Source: World Health Organization/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2020).
 

Rural and Resources

Indicator 15 : Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services (SDG Indicator 6.2.1)

Definition: SDG Indicator 6.2.1: The Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services is currently being measured by the proportion of the population using a basic sanitation facility which is not shared with other households and where excreta is safely disposed in situ or treated off-site. ‘Improved’ sanitation facilities include: flush or pour flush toilets to sewer systems, septic tanks or pit latrines, ventilated improved pit latrines, pit latrines with a slab, and composting toilets.

Analytical part :

- SDG Target 6.2: By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations. 

- The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene is in charge of the compilation of this indicator in the continuation of the Millenium Development Goals. JMP will continue to track the proportion of the population with access to a basic sanitation system for disposal of human excrement of households or the immediate neighborhood (public wastewater network, septic tanks, etc.).  

- Worldwide, in 2021, 46% of the global population (3.6 billion people) lacked “safely managed sanitation” – meaning access to a toilet or latrine that leads to treatment or safe disposal of excreta.

- In 2020, estimates are available for 20 countries in the Mediterranean region. The population using safely managed sanitation services was less than 22% in Algeria, Lebanon, Libya and less than 50% in Albania and Morocco.

Wide disparities still exist in 2020. 5 countries have at least 90% of their population using safely managed sanitation services whereas 2 others have less than 50% (in Albania and Morocco) and even 3 others have less than 22% (in Algeria, Lebanon, Libya).
The percentage of population with safely managed sanitation services increased from about 58 % in 2000 to reach about 67 % in 2020.

Precautions / Notes: This data, however, may reflect installed treatment technology rather than actual performance, overestimating safe management. Furthermore, not all excreta from households with sewer connections actually connect with a sewer line and reach a wastewater treatment plant.

Source:  World Health Organization/United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, 2020
 

Rural and Resources

Indicator 16a : Proportion of agriculture quality products and Share of the agricultural land area used by organic farming

Definition: This indicator measures the evolution of the number of organic farms in the Mediterranean countries, as well as the share of agricultural land used by organic farming. Organic areas: certified organic land/areas that are fully converted as well as land under conversion. “Organic Agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic Agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved." (IFOAM).
Sustainable agriculture allows guaranteeing food security, protecting human health and preserving ecosystems. Organic farming is an efficient way to assess the path of countries toward SDG Target 2.4 (sustainable food production systems, resilient agricultural practices, ecosystems maintained, adaptation to climate change, land and soil quality improved). 

Analytical part :

Proportion of agriculture quality products

Besides, organic farming has become one of the most dynamic agricultural sectors in the European Union, with 14,7 million hectares in 2020 (+0.9 billion of hectares since 2018), i.e. 9.36 % of agricultural land (+1.6% since 2017).
Organic farming area is unprecedentedly booming (more than x 4 times since 2000, in a majority of countries) but still only covers less than 5 % of the agricultural land in 2020. 
In 2019, France and Spain were among the world’s top ten countries with the highest increase of organic land.

Source: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, The World of Organic Agriculture 2021.
 

Rural and Resources

Indicator 16b

Definition: This indicator measures the evolution of the number of organic farms in the Mediterranean countries, as well as the share of agricultural land used by organic farming. Organic areas: certified organic land/areas that are fully converted as well as land under conversion. “Organic Agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic Agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved." (IFOAM).
Sustainable agriculture allows guaranteeing food security, protecting human health and preserving ecosystems. Organic farming is an efficient way to assess the path of countries toward SDG Target 2.4 (sustainable food production systems, resilient agricultural practices, ecosystems maintained, adaptation to climate change, land and soil quality improved). 

The number of organic producers continues to increase with about + 5000 from 2018 to 2021 reaching 287,588 producers in 2021. Italy is in the worldwide top ten countries. Some countries have seen the numbers of their organic producers increasing significantly (France, Spain, Italy, Croatia) but others faced significant decreases like Tunisia, Slovenia but above all Türkiye (-35 % from 2018 to 2021).

Precautions / Notes: The number of producers is probably higher than the published number because the number of small producers is not reported by some countries.

Source: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, The World of Organic Agriculture 2021.

Rural and Resources

Indicator 16c

Definition: This indicator measures the evolution of the number of organic farms in the Mediterranean countries, as well as the share of agricultural land used by organic farming. Organic areas: certified organic land/areas that are fully converted as well as land under conversion. “Organic Agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic Agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved." (IFOAM).
Sustainable agriculture allows guaranteeing food security, protecting human health and preserving ecosystems. Organic farming is an efficient way to assess the path of countries toward SDG Target 2.4 (sustainable food production systems, resilient agricultural practices, ecosystems maintained, adaptation to climate change, land and soil quality improved). 

The share of agricultural land used by organic farming is rising in most Mediterranean countries. In 2021, in Italy, this share reached up to more than 16.5 % while it is lower than 4% in 4 countries and even less than 1% in 8 countries. 
Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Greece are in the first positions in the Mediterranean region for their share of organic farming, and ranked respectively 9 th, 15 th, 19th and 20th worldwide in terms of proportion of agricultural land used for organic farming.

Source: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, The World of Organic Agriculture 2021.
 

Rural and Resources

Indicator 17a : Red List Index

Definition : SDG Indicator 15.5.1 Red List Index: It measures change in aggregate extinction risk across groups of species. It is based on genuine changes in the number of species in each category of extinction risk on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2015). It is expressed as changes in an index ranging from 0 to 1. A Red List Index value of 1 would indicate that biodiversity loss has been halted. A decreasing Red List Index value would indicate that extinction risk is increasing.

SDG Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.
The Red List Index represents an index of aggregate survival probability (the inverse of extinction risk) for all birds, mammals, amphibians, corals and cycads occurring within the region, weighted by the fraction of each species’ distribution occurring within the region. It shows how adequately species are conserved or not in the region relative to its potential contribution to global species conservation.

In 2022, the value of the Red List Index in the Mediterranean countries is above the world value 0.83 except for Israel, Monaco and Montenegro. The Red List Index is above 0.9 in 10 Mediterranean countries. 
From 2010 to 2022, the Red List Index is decreasing mainly in 4 countries: Albania, Algeria, France and a little bit in Malta, Libya, Lebanon, Montenegro.

Precautions / Notes: The main limitation of the Red List Index is related to the fact that the Red List Categories are relatively broad measures of status, and thus the Red List Index for any individual taxonomic group can practically be updated at intervals of at least four years. As the overall index is aggregated across multiple taxonomic groups, it can be updated typically annually. In addition, the Red List Index does not capture particularly well the deteriorating status of common species that remain abundant and widespread but are declining slowly.

Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (www.iucn.org), The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-2, 2022.
 

Rural and Resources

Indicator 17b : Animal species in IUCN Red List

Definition: SDG Indicator 15.5.1 Red List Index: It measures change in aggregate extinction risk across groups of species. It is based on genuine changes in the number of species in each category of extinction risk on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2015). It is expressed as changes in an index ranging from 0 to 1. A Red List Index value of 1 would indicate that biodiversity loss has been halted. A decreasing Red List Index value would indicate that extinction risk is increasing

The total number of animal species listed in the IUCN red list (gathering extinct, critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable) has increased in all the Mediterranean countries from 2018 to 2021.
Countries with the highest increasing total number of species listed in the IUCN red list are Spain and France with 81 new species listed followed by Greece and Italy with respectively 63 and 66 new species. France is the country with the most species listed. 
From 2018 to 2021:

• 1 more specie extinct in Tunisia and 2 more in Morocco
• 130 new species get the “critically endangered” status
• 381 new species get the “endangered” status
• 227 new species get the “vulnerable” status

Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (www.iucn.org), The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-2, 2022.