In the last half century, it has seen an alarming increase in erosion, desertification, deforstation, flooding, overgrazing and human overpopulation. The mere possibility that the environment in Southern Europe might degrade even further for any reason merits serious attention because it would make life difficult for millions of people.
Choices made in the past are the intial conditions of the present-day Southern European landscape.
Human groups, whether as farmer, herdsman or urban resident, are continuously engaged in activities which alter and restructure the natural order. These alterations impinge on ecological regimes and cause profound changes which are in turn reflected in population movements, land use changes, and the rapid urbanization of coastal areas, for example. But what drives these decisions are perceptions of, and social inter-actions about the environment. They come from seven European countries. The specific contributions of the IERC are through The development of a complex systems model of the agrodynamics, tourism and changing land use of the Argolid Valley, Greece and the Benidorm area of Spain.