Options méditerranéennes N° 80

Droughts occur very frequently in many regions of the world with severe economic and social consequences also connected to the vulnerability of the water supply systems and of society in general. Such vulnerability is due to situations of permanent water scarcity, quality deterioration and increasing water demande deriving from population growth, tourist development and irrigation needs. Climate change is introducing a new dimension in drought management in many regions, as for example, the Mediterranean, since the projections of the recent relevant reports for this area predict climatic conditions with higher temperatures and more frequent droughts.
Thus, a policy for drought management requires actions aimed to improve drought preparedness and to mitigate impacts. The objective of the First International Conference "Drought management : scientific and technological innovations", held in Zaragoza (Spain) from 12 to 14 June, was to introduce the new scientific and technological concepts and tools to be used in drought management plans in the context of agriculture, urban supply, and water management, highlighting the successful experiences based on preparedness and risk-based management as a critical approach to mitigate the impacts associated with drought in societies with different vulnerabilities.
Scientific and technological innovations in the fields of climatology, hydrology, drought and drought impact assessment, drought risk and vulnerability analysis and decision support tools for drought management were presented. The Conference was organised in the framework of the MEDROPLAN project. This project is funded by the Euro-Mediterranean Regional Programme for Local Water Management (MEDA Water), coordinated by the Mediterranean Agronomie Institute of Zaragoza - CIHEAM and counts with the participation of scientiste and stakeholders from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia that have developed Drought Management Guidelines for Mediterranean countries.
This volume contains 59 articles from contributions that were presented in the Conference, showing scientifical and technical advances as well as drought management experiences in Mediterranean and non Mediterranean countries. The scope of the articles ranges from global and general issues such as the predictions of drought occurrence under climate change or the methods of drought assessment, to local experiences at basin level for factoring drought into integrated water management.