Introduction

The heterogeneous nature of the Mediterranean environment, combined with a wide diversity of socio-economic and cultural identities, make this region particularly amenable to integrated research on climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptive response. Eleven case-study locations have been strategically selected to represent three generic Mediterranean environments (urban, rural and coastal). While each case study location comprises a unique and complex set of climate-related issues, the range and scope of the case studies allows identification of common lessons and messages for the wider Mediterranean region. The aim is to perform an integrated assessment of climate impacts, vulnerability and adaptation at a regional to local scale. A risk-based ‘bottom up’ approach (based on regional stakeholder dialogue) is combined with a ‘top down’ case-study indicator assessment focused on a common conceptual and methodological framework.