sustainability Commentary Land Degradation and Mitigation Policies in the Mediterranean Region: A Brief Commentary Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir 1 , Daniela Smiraglia 2,* , Giovanni Quaranta 3 , Rosanna Salvia 3 , Luca Salvati 4 and Antonio Giménez-Morera 5 1 Department of Overland Communication Ways, Foundation and Cadastral Survey, Politehnica University of Timisoara, 1A I. Curea Street, 300224 Timisoara, Romania; rares.halbac-cotoara-zamfi
[email protected] 2 Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Via Vitaliano Brancati 48, I-00144 Rome, Italy 3 Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics, University of Basilicata, Via dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, I-85100 Potenza, Italy;
[email protected] (G.Q.);
[email protected] (R.S.) 4 Department of Economics and Law, University of Macerata, Via Armaroli 43, I-62100 Macerata, Italy;
[email protected] 5 Departamento de Economia y Ciencias Sociales, Universitat Politècnica de València, Cami de Vera S/N, ES-46022 Valencia, Spain;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +39-06500-72261 Received: 15 September 2020; Accepted: 6 October 2020; Published: 9 October 2020 Abstract: Land degradation is more evident where conditions of environmental vulnerability already exist because of arid climate and unsustainable forms of land exploitation. Consequently, semi-arid and dry areas have been identified as vulnerable land, requiring attention from both science and policy perspectives. In some regions, such as the Mediterranean region, land degradation is particularly intense, although there are no extreme ecological conditions. In these contexts, a wide range of formal and informal responses is necessary to face particularly complex and spatially differentiated territorial processes.