Building Climate-Resilient Mediterranean Olive Systems: Integrating Soil, Water, Carbon, Biodiversity, and Innovation for a Sustainable Future

Mediterranean olive systems face compound climatic, ecological, and socio-economic pressures. Drawing on the consensus of the International Conference on Sustainability in Olive Cultivation (ICSOC) 2025, we propose an integrated framework structured along three axes: five thematic pillars (soil, biodiversity, plant health, water–energy–carbon nexus, market and governance), four operationally defined transversal concepts (resilience, sustainability, circularity, and innovation), and three nested levels of analysis (plot, landscape, socio-ecological system). We map cross-pillar synergies and trade-offs that must be governed, including intensification versus biodiversity and monitoring-intensive carbon farming versus the inclusion of small producers. Agricultural productivity is treated as the operational anchor that underwrites rural livelihoods and legitimizes regenerative management. Anchored in the EU Green Deal, EU Soil Mission, and EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation, this Perspective offers an actionable map for the transition to climate-resilient, productive olive systems.