| Editorial
Why
dedicate an issue of Sustainable Mediterranean to Women
and the Environment in the Mediterranean? Simply because
women in the Mediterranean, as in many other parts of the
world, play an important role, which may vary between
subregions and countries, but which is, in all cases,
important and crucial for the protection of the
Environment and Sustainable Development.
In a nutshell,
the common features of the special role of the
Mediterranean women are:
-
A deeper
devotion to peace than men
-
A higher
appreciation of the beauty and non-utilirian values of
nature and the Environment in general
-
A much
larger part of their time is devoted to the
up-bringing and education of children
-
An almost
absolute authority in the choice of food and selection
of the methods and means of preparing it as well as on
many issues directly or indirectly linked with the use
of energy and water in the household
-
A decisive
role in the choice and purchase of products related to
cleaning and other components of everyday life at
home (detergents, soap, etc. but also electrical
and other appliances)
-
A closer
link to the management of household wastes including
either the first steps of recycling be separation at
the source, composting etc. or, in contrast, improper
disposal of waste.
These features
cover the entire range of levels at which decisions are
taken to grassroots level and drastically influence the
evolution, formulation and implementation (or lack of it)
of all kinds of policies.
Therefore, women
seem to keep in their hands the key, or at least on of the
keys, which may open the door, particularly for the young
into a more sustainable use of the environment. The
question is to allow them to acquire the knowledge and
powers to use it to efficiently and timely.
Without
idealizing or oversimplifying the issue and without
forgetting taht all of us, women and men, good and bad,
more and less aware or willing to contribute to the
solution of the pending problems of our region, are
children of women, we have to admit that from field
observations throughout the world, in cases where the
women of a community became aware and environmentally
conscious, the community progressed rapidly.
The present
issue of SM may be a small contribution to the big issue
of Women and the Environment in the Mediterranean
Prof.
M.Scoullos, Chairman of MIO-ECSDE
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