AUTHOR=Saqalli Mehdi , Kupelian Laurent , Chakroun Hedia , Mahé Gil , Khater Carla , Drapeau Laurent , Fenianos Johnny , Cartier Stéphane , Chaabane Zohra Lili , Probst Jean-Luc , Saenz Melio 

TITLE=Some like it complex: building a common multidisciplinarity background from local experiences within the South-Mediterranean environmental research communities

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Cities

VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-cities/articles/10.3389/frsc.2023.1152244

DOI=10.3389/frsc.2023.1152244

ISSN=2624-9634

ABSTRACT=This article addresses the difficulty to introduce and settle multidisciplinarity in environmental researches within and among the South-Mediterranean environmental research national communities. Moreover, this work attends to assess the internal and external structural factors treating such complex issues in rural, urban and periurban contexts and finally the connections and dependences over these components. Throughout a series of programs, projects and actions having involved scientists and scholars from Algeria, France, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia, some common patterns can be observed despite notable differences in environmental and political contexts. Thus, the main common issues involve funding matters (budget reductions and less versatility), administrative and social hierarchy, relatively small connection with public services and community representatives and finally the reluctance shown by many researchers to make data available for the community. Nevertheless, the fact that national and international (Arabic and French speaking sphere) researcher's communities have progressively built mutual knowledge thanks to different collaborations, is a major achievement sustaining the multidisciplinarity in the environmental research. Indeed, this allowed the elaboration of sustainability metrics, demarches and procedures for assessing environmentally and socioeconomically complex issues.