This week, the Mediterranean confronts its fragilities and strengthens its solidarities. In Greece, wild horses are dying in the Evros delta due to lack of water and site management. In Albania, Lake Shkodër is embarking on its ecological recovery thanks to renewed cross-border cooperation. In Lebanon, national unity is revitalized during the visit of Pope Leon XIV. And in Marseille, open-source sensors are measuring air quality to better protect everyone's health.
Summary of articles published this week in 22-med, available in the 11 languages used on the site. To read them in full: subscribe and support an independent media.
In the Evros Delta, wild horses trapped by drought and inaction
By Kelly Fanarioti – Journalist
A major wetland in Greece, located in the northeast of the country along the Turkish border, the Evros delta is seeing its balance crack under the combined effects of climate disruption and lack of public management. Wild horses are dying there due to lack of fresh water, while fishermen and farmers are falling into precariousness. Associations and residents are raising the alarm about the urgency of restoring the dam destroyed in 2014, the only sustainable solution to halt the degradation of the site.
The largest lake in the Balkans embarks on its ecological recovery
By Rajmonda Basha – Journalist
After decades of uncontrolled interventions, pollution, and haphazard management, Lake Shkodër — the largest in the Balkans, located in northern Albania at the border with Montenegro — is beginning to return to balance. Public audits, joint scientific studies, and cross-border cooperation are paving the way for more sustainable management. This will be further strengthened in 2025 with the arrival of a machine dedicated to cleaning aquatic vegetation.
The visit of Leon XIV breaks down walls between religions
By Edward Sfeir – Journalist
In pouring rain, thousands of Lebanese flocked to welcome Pope Leon XIV. In a war-torn country, his visit provoked a rare scene: Christians, Sunnis, Shiites, Druze, and Jews gathered on the same sidewalks, from the alleys of the southern suburbs to the heights of Annaya. A moment of national unity, fragile but real, that gives Lebanon a breath it thought was lost.
Measuring air quality everywhere is possible!
By Olivier Martocq - Journalist
Every year, air pollution causes nearly 9 million deaths worldwide. This data was widely discussed during COP30 in Brazil, and the WHO now sees it as the main environmental risk to health. Outside, road traffic, industry, or burning saturate the atmosphere. Inside, poorly ventilated rooms even pose a greater risk. From Marseille, open-source, repairable, and inexpensive sensors are spreading in schools and municipalities around the Mediterranean to finally make visible the air we breathe and influence public decisions.