Tools For Drought Mitigation In Mediterranean Regions

Significant vulnerability of water systems to drought is a common issue of water resources management in Mediterranean regions. This is due both to the increasing occurrence and severity of drought events and to the growing demand for municipal, tourist, and agricultural uses. The INCO-DC project entitled "A Decision Support System for Mitigation of Drought Impacts in the Mediterranean Regions" (DSS DROUGHT) addresses this issue, contributing to an improved management of water supply systems for irrigation, which represents the most consumptive sector of water resources uses in the Mediterranean region. In order to develop a comprehensive approach toward improved operation of irrigation systems under drought conditions, the project was developed around the following five main, strictly interconnected tasks: Identification of drought characteristics at a site and over a region Modelling irrigation management under conditions of water scarcity Modelling operation of water supply systems under drought conditions Integration of the developed methodologies within a Decision Support System software package Definition of requisites for Drought Watch Systems The research resulted in an advancement of knowledge through in-depth analysis of innovative methodologies, the development of tools to help decision-makers in coping with droughts through the implementation of the developed procedures in software packages, and the application of these tools to the case-studies identified by partners in their countries.

Frequent drought events have recently occurred in different Mediterranean regions. These have highlighted a general inadequacy of the current strategies applied to mitigate negative impacts of such phenomenon. This book provides various methods of drought monitoring at different spatial scales, as well as innovative drought forecasting techniques based on stochastic approaches. Besides common drought indices (i.e. SPI), new agrometeorological indices are proposed.

Over the last three decades drought episodes have resulted in severe social problems in Mediterranean countries, receiving broad attention from the international scientific and policy communities. The experiences in the development and implementation of drought management plans highlight the success and challenges of coping with drought for societies with different vulnerabilities and emphasize risk-based drought management as a critical approach to mitigate the impacts associated to drought-induced water shortages. Based on these experiences and the current methods for evaluating risk, the book synthesises guidelines for drought management that link science and policy and that can be applied to other regions. The book comprises a collection of papers divided into four sections that appeal to a broad audience. First, the social and hydrological context of Mediterranean countries is presented, discussing the interactions that have resulted in the complex institutional framework, and highlighting the importance of stakeholder involvement and awareness building for successful drought management. This section emphasises the role of organizations, institutions, and civil stakeholders involved in drought preparedness and mitigation and/or on water management for designing effective risk based strategies that mitigate the effects of drought in agriculture and water supply systems. Second, the book presents an academic approach to risk evaluation, including characterization of drought episodes, development of indicators of risk in hydrological and agricultural systems, and analysis of the role of economic instruments and groundwater for risk mitigation. This section finalises with the description of an integrated method for evaluating social vulnerability based on indicators that include the capacity to anticipate, cope, and respond to drought. The third section includes a collection of case studies that include the description of effective measures taken in the past. These case studies provide the context for developing demand driven guidelines that may be applied to other regions. The authors of these chapters can be viewed as stakeholders in drought management, since they represent a broad range of sectors and institutions from Mediterranean European and North African countries. The topics addressed have implications for the international policy community interested in disaster mitigation, agricultural policy, and development. Finally a synthesis of the management actions is presented in four chapters. Monitoring and preparedness planning is the essential first step for moving from disaster to risk management in response to drought. The management actions related to agriculture and water supply systems are presented in two different chapters but with a common conceptual framework based on the use of drought indicators for evaluating the levels of drought risk (pre-alert, alert, and emergency), that allow establishing linkages between science and policy. The final chapter discuses the lessons learned and application to other regions.

This book puts great emphasis on the importance of Integrated Water Resources Management IWRM as the way forward towards food, water, and energy security. It offers better ways and means of managing the limited water resources; using water more efficiently; adopting new policies in order to cope with climate change and drought; increase water supply through the use of non conventional water resources, especially waste water; inducing stakeholders participation and information exchange and raise public awareness to the value of water. It is an important book for all those involved in all aspects of water resources and contains valuable information for scientists, researchers, farmers, extension services and students.

Drought is one of the major natural hazards, resulting in significant economic, social, and environmental costs. In Europe, water shortage is an important problem in many regions. However, despite the increasing awareness of this hazard, there is no European drought policy and institutional frameworks to cope with drought situations are only weakly developed. This book is dedicated to furthering our understanding of the drought problem in Europe and to discussing policy and management options to mitigate its impacts. It covers aspects from the detection of water stress to the planning of mitigation strategies. The contributions are written by recognised experts in their field and represent a unique collection of papers on the topic. Audience: The book will be of benefit to scientists, managers, and politicians involved in problems related to water management, risk assessment, and spatial planning. Students in Earth Sciences, especially in geography, climatology, hydrology, and agriculture, will find useful material in this collection of papers.

本书精选了会议的30余篇论文,以干旱区水资源可持续利用为核心,讨论了干旱区植被-水文-沙漠的相互作用机理、水循环系统模型及其构建方法等。

This book provides a multi-lateral forum for cooperation, information exchange, and dialogue among the environmental, development, foreign and security policy communities within the Mediterranean Region and thus may provide a precedent for further cooperation and partnership, including other more advanced conferences and publications, on assessing the condition of the entire region and the subsequent impacts and linkages to environmental security.

Water Resources in the Mediterranean Region summarizes and collates scientific developments around water resources in the Mediterranean socio-economic environment through a multidisciplinary framework synthesizing hydrology, hydrogeology, climate, bioclimatology, economics, and geography. As such, it provides essential information for any reader looking to learn more about the Mediterranean which is experiencing the impact of climate change and concurrent complex issues of anthropogenic effects, especially in agriculture and other resource uses. Water Resources in the Mediterranean Region covers different challenges in the issue of the evolution of water resources in the Mediterranean. It is intended for PhD students, research scientists, and managers interested in new solutions and approaches for water management and in the forecast of future water dynamics. Offers multidisciplinary content providing global visions of the challenges faced in the Mediterranean region Presents fundamental and operational studies, providing the reader with information on how to implement these actions and results themselves Written in a pedagogical manner, allowing for ease of reading for both researchers and water managers