scholarly journals Drought Management Planning Policy: From Europe to Spain

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Hervás-Gámez ◽  
Fernando Delgado-Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Drought Management ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Planning Policy ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
Common Diagnosis

Climate change is anticipated to exacerbate the frequency, the intensity, and the duration of droughts, especially in Mediterranean countries. This might lead to more serious water scarcity episodes and fierce competition among water users. Are we really prepared to deal efficiently with droughts and water scarcity events? This paper sheds light on this question by reviewing the evolution of European drought management planning policy, recently developed scientific and technical advances, technical guidance documents, and an extensive number of journal papers. More specifically, Spain presents an ideal context to assess how drought risk has been historically addressed because this country has periodically suffered the impacts of intense droughts and water scarcity episodes, and has developed a long track record in water legislation, hydrological planning, and drought risk management strategies. The most recent Drought Management Plans (DMPs) were approved in December 2018. These include an innovative common diagnosis system that distinguishes droughts and water scarcity situations in terms of indicators, triggers, phases, and actions. We can conclude that DMP should be a live and active document able to integrate updated knowledge. The DMP needs also to set out a clear strategy in terms of water use priorities, drought monitoring systems, and measures in each river basin in order to avoid generalist approaches and possible misinterpretation of the DMP that could lead to increase existing and future conflicts.

scholarly journals Are the Modern Drought Management Plans Modern Enough? The Guadalquivir River Basin Case in Spain

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Carmen Hervás-Gámez ◽  
Fernando Delgado-Ramos
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Drought Event ◽  
Drought Management ◽  
Modeling Tools ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Guadalquivir River

Droughts and water scarcity events are predicted to be more frequent and intense in the future, especially in Mediterranean countries. However, are the most recent drought management plans (DMPs) built on the latest technical, engineering, and scientific knowledge, as well as the learning experiences from managing historical droughts? The most significant challenge that surfaces, when a new drought event strikes, is the difficulty in predicting its duration (which can vary from months to years), the severity (or degree of affection to water resources), and the potential environmental, economic, and social impacts. Hence, there is an importance of integrating reliable forecasting and modeling tools in the development of modern DMPs, so the potential risk can be assessed under a range of possible drought scenarios. This will ensure that the proposed measures and actions of the DMP are sufficiently robust and proportionate to the drought and water scarcity situation. This paper provides a critical assessment of the core technical concepts and principles to be taken into consideration when developing the methodological and operational framework of a DMP. The case of study chosen is the Guadalquivir River Basin in southern Spain, which presents one of the most complex and paradigmatic cases in this regard. This region suffers recurrent episodes of drought and water scarcity, together with fierce competition among water users. Recently, a new strategic DMP has been approved and adopted in December 2018. The implications of applying the DMP in practice during the drought have been also evaluated. This study draws important lessons learned that could be applied in other areas suffering from water scarcity and droughts.

scholarly journals Perceiving and managing the 2018 & 2019 droughts in Europe: is there a need for macro-governance in Europe?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veit Blauhut ◽  
Claudia Teutschbein ◽  
Mathias N. Andersen ◽  
Manuela Brunner ◽  
Carmelo Cammalleri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Indicator System ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Drought Management ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Drought Vulnerability ◽  
Drought Hazard ◽  
National Differences

<p>In recent years, the adverse effects of drought have been experienced and perceived more severely and frequently all over Europe. These impacts are a result of the drought hazard and the socio-economic and ecological vulnerability. Due to the heterogeneity of Europe’s hydro-climatology and its cultural, political, social and economic diversity , the socio-economic and ecological impacts vary not only with respect to the extent, duration and severity of the drought, but also with the characteristics of affected societies, economic sectors and ecosystems. </p><p>The lack  of understanding the spatio-temporal differences in the drivers of drought risk hinders the successful mitigation of future impacts, and the design of suitable reactive and proactive drought action plans. Therefore, this study describes the European drought events of 2018 and 2019 beyond the hazard. The hypothesis to be proven is that similar hazard conditions result in different impacts due to national and sub-national differences in drought vulnerability, perception and drought-risk management. Based on research in 35 European countries, comparable national datasets on drought management and perception are established. For each of these countries, a uniform questionnaire was distributed to water management-related stakeholders at different administrative levels. A major focus of the questions was the perception and impacts of the recent droughts and current management strategies on a national and sub-national scale. The results of the questionnaires are also compared to country-scale profiles of past drought events for different drought types, i.e. meteorological, soil moisture, hydrological and vegetation drought, which were established based on information derived from the European Drought Observatory indicator system.</p><p>The results highlight a large diversity in the national perception of drought as a natural hazard and its impacts; but also a different spatial extent of 2018/2019 drought events At the same time,  existing drought management strategies are shown to increase national and sub-national resilience. The study, therefore, calls for international exchange and mutual learning to improve national and international drought governance and management.</p>

scholarly journals Challenges for the Integration of Water Resource and Drought-Risk Management in Spain

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Vargas ◽  
Pilar Paneque
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Drought Management ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Increased Risk

Droughts are risks characterized by their complexity, uncertainty, and a series of other features, which differentiate them from other natural disasters and affect the strategies designed to manage them. These characteristics highlight the close relationship between drought management and water resources management. The following hypothesis is raised in this study—unsatisfactory integration of a drought-risk and water resources management strategies, increases the vulnerability to drought. To corroborate this hypothesis, the Spanish case was analyzed, where droughts are a recurrent phenomenon, due to the Mediterranean climate. Starting from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) framework, which has been proposed to characterize vulnerability as a function of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, this study analyzed the vulnerability in the Spanish River Basin Districts, through—(i) the integration of the predictable effects of climate change and the increased risk of exposure in hydrologic planning; (ii) the pressure on water resources that determines the sensitivity of the systems; and (iii) the development and implementation of drought management plans as a fundamental tool, in order to adapt before these events occur. The results showed that despite important advances in the process of conceiving and managing droughts, in Spain, there are still important gaps for an adequate integration of droughts risk into the water resource strategies. Therefore, despite the improvements, drought-risk vulnerability of the systems remained high.

scholarly journals Lessons from the 2018–2019 European droughts: A collective need for unifying drought risk management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veit Blauhut ◽  
Michael Stoelzle ◽  
Lauri Ahopelto ◽  
Manuela I. Brunner ◽  
Claudia Teutschbein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Drought Management ◽  
Drought Impacts ◽  
Drought Hazard ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Hydrologic Conditions ◽  
Drought Risk Management ◽  
High Diversity

Abstract. Drought events and their impacts vary spatially and temporally due to diverse pedo-climatic and hydrologic conditions, as well as variations in exposure and vulnerability, such as demographics and response actions. While hazardous severity and frequency of past drought events have been studied in detail, little is known about the effect of drought management strategies on the actual impacts, and how the hazard is perceived by relevant stakeholders for inducing action. In a continental study, we characterised and assessed the impacts and the perceptions of two recent drought events (2018 and 2019) in Europe and examined the relationship between management strategies and drought perception, hazard and impacts. The study was based on a pan-European survey involving national representatives from 28 countries and relevant stakeholders responding to a standard questionnaire. The survey focused on collecting information on stakeholders’ perceptions of drought, impacts on water resources and beyond, water availability and current drought management strategies at national and regional scales. The survey results were compared with the actual drought hazard information registered by the European Drought Observatory (EDO) for 2018 and 2019. The results highlighted high diversity in drought perceptions across different countries and in values of implemented drought management strategies to alleviate impacts by increasing national and sub-national awareness and resilience. The study concludes with an urgent need to further reduce drought impacts by constructing and implementing a European macro-level drought governance approach, such as a directive, which would strengthen national drought management and lessen harm to human and natural potentials.

scholarly journals Direct and indirect economic impacts of drought in the agri-food sector in the Ebro River basin (Spain)

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2679-2694 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gil ◽  
A. Garrido ◽  
N. Hernández-Mora
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Drought Event ◽  
Drought Impacts ◽  
Indirect Impacts

Abstract. The economic evaluation of drought impacts is essential in order to define efficient and sustainable management and mitigation strategies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the economic impacts of a drought event on the agricultural sector and measure how they are transmitted from primary production to industrial output and related employment. We fit econometric models to determine the magnitude of the economic loss attributable to water storage. The direct impacts of drought on agricultural productivity are measured through a direct attribution model. Indirect impacts on agricultural employment and the agri-food industry are evaluated through a nested indirect attribution model. The transmission of water scarcity effects from agricultural production to macroeconomic variables is measured through chained elasticities. The models allow for differentiating the impacts deriving from water scarcity from other sources of economic losses. Results show that the importance of drought impacts are less relevant at the macroeconomic level, but are more significant for those activities directly dependent on water abstractions and precipitation. From a management perspective, implications of these findings are important to develop effective mitigation strategies to reduce drought risk exposure.

scholarly journals Avoiding Conflicts between Future Freshwater Algae Production and Water Scarcity in the United States at the Energy-Water Nexus

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henriette I. Jager ◽  
Rebecca A. Efroymson ◽  
Latha M. Baskaran
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sustainable Production ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Freshwater Algae ◽  
Algal Biofuels ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Water Surplus

Sustainable production of algae will depend on understanding trade-offs at the energy-water nexus. Algal biofuels promise to improve the environmental sustainability profile of renewable energy along most dimensions. In this assessment of potential US freshwater production, we assumed sustainable production along the carbon dimension by simulating placement of open ponds away from high-carbon-stock lands (forest, grassland, and wetland) and near sources of waste CO 2 . Along the water dimension, we quantified trade-offs between water scarcity and production for an ‘upstream’ indicator (measuring minimum water supply) and a ‘downstream’ indicator (measuring impacts on rivers). For the upstream indicator, we developed a visualization tool to evaluate algae production for different thresholds for water surplus. We hypothesized that maintaining a minimum seasonal water surplus would also protect river habitat for aquatic biota. Our study confirmed that ensuring surplus water also reduced the duration of low-flow events, but only above a threshold. We also observed a trade-off between algal production and the duration of low-flow events in streams. These results can help to guide the choice of basin-specific sustainability targets to avoid conflicts with competing water users at this energy-water nexus. Where conflicts emerge, alternative water sources or enclosed photobioreactors may be needed for algae cultivation.

scholarly journals Study on Physiological Parameters and Economics of Rice Cultivation under Different Establishment Methods and Water Management Practices

2020 ◽  
pp. 123-131
Author(s):  
S. Selvakumar ◽  
S. Sakthivel ◽  
Akihiko Kamoshita ◽  
R. Babu ◽  
S. Thiyageshwari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Physiological Parameters

A field experiment was conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, during summer 2019 to study about the changes in physiological parameters of rice under various establishment and water management strategies and to find out the suitable method of rice establishment and irrigation management practices for tank irrigated command areas during water scarcity situation. Field experiment comprised of four establishment methods in combination with four irrigation management strategies. Medium duration fine grain rice variety TKM 13 was used for the study. Results of the study revealed that machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation after formation of hairline crack recorded improved physiological parameters and yield. It was on par with machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation when water level reaches 5 cm below soil surface. Higher gross return, net return and B:C ratio were observed with machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation after formation of hairline crack. This was followed by machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation when water level reaches 5 cm below soil. Hence, the result of study concluded that machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation when water level reaches 5 cm below soil surface can be recommended as the suitable technology for the farmers of tank irrigated command area to get higher return with minimum use of resources under water scarcity situation.

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