WATER MANAGEMENT IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID REGIONS: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES; ED. BY PHOEBE KOUNDOURI

Water deficiency in many arid and semi-arid regions in Southern Europe is becoming a major constraint for economic welfare and sustainable regional development. These regions are characterised by high spatial and temporal imbalances of water demand and supply, seasonal water uses, inadequate water resources and poor institutional water management. The aim of this book is to formulate appropriate strategies and guidelines for water management necessary for the formulation and implementation of integrated sustainable management of water resources. Lessons are learned from various case studies, which examine competing water use patterns, compare governance structures and how these have evolved in response to scarcity, and structural and non-structural instruments to address water deficiency. Water Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions will appeal to policymakers in relevant countries as well as to scholars and researchers of environmental studies and economics. Contents......Page 5 Contributors......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 9 PART I Introduction......Page 11 1. Water management in arid and semi-arid regions: interdisciplinary perspectives – an introduction......Page 13 PART II A strategy-developing approach for regulating and managing water resources and demand in water-deficient regions: the WaterStrategyMan project......Page 21 2. The WaterStrategyMan decision support system......Page 23 3. Evaluation of alternative water management scenarios: case study of Ribeiras do Algarve, Portugal......Page 51 PART III A participatory approach to addressing conflicting demands and varying hydrological conditions for the sustainable use of water on Mediterranean islands: the MEDIS project......Page 115 4. Climate change and vulnerabilities to drought on Mediterranean islands......Page 117 5. Water use in agriculture on Mediterranean islands: present situation and future perspective......Page 146 PART IV An economic approach to integrated and sustainable water resources management in arid and semi-arid regions: a group of environmental economists from the ARID cluster......Page 169 7. Competition versus cooperation in groundwater extraction: a stochastic framework with heterogeneous agents......Page 198 PART V A co-evolutionary approach to adaptive, integrated water management under changing utilization conditions: the Aquadapt project......Page 209 8. Socio-cultural influences on water utilization: a comparative analysis......Page 211 9. Some evidence of landscape change, water usage, management system and governance co-dynamics in south-eastern Spain......Page 236 PART VI Conclusion......Page 263 10. Conclusions and policy recommendations for the EU Water Framework Directive......Page 265 Index......Page 273