Drought Management Planning Policy: From Europe to Spain

Abstract

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.

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

“…This event resulted in important water scarcity problems and significant economic, social, and environmental consequences (important harvest losses, severe water restrictions to all users, disruptions to services, drinking water deterioration, very low river flows, contamination issues, etc.) [6].…”

“…Climate change is projected to increase the intensity, the duration, and the frequency of severe droughts in most of Europe, especially in Mediterranean countries (arid and water-stressed basins) [4,5]. A comprehensive critical review of the historical drought management planning policy evolution in Europe and Spain is presented in Hervás-Gámez and Delgado-Ramos [6].The occurrence of droughts cannot be avoided as they are a regular feature of any climate. Thus, efforts should be focused on improving the preparedness, risk-reduction based strategies and progressive adaptation in order to avoid (where possible), minimise and manage the potential negative consequences of drought events.…”

“…DMPs should define relevant drought and water scarcity indicators and their thresholds, provide reliable early warning systems, and establish priorities among water users together with a clear action roadmap to be followed during each drought phase. In order to be effective tools and provide consistent support to water decision-makers, DMPs should be based on technical evidence, the latest engineering and science knowledge combined with learning experiences from historical droughts [6]. Despite their importance, the Water Framework Directive (WFD, Directive 2000/60/EC, [7]) does not explicitly require the elaboration of DMPs by member estates.…”

“…Climate change is projected to increase the intensity, the duration, and the frequency of severe droughts in most of Europe, especially in Mediterranean countries (arid and water-stressed basins) [4,5]. A comprehensive critical review of the historical drought management planning policy evolution in Europe and Spain is presented in Hervás-Gámez and Delgado-Ramos [6].…”

Unsustainability Syndrome—From Meteorological to Agricultural Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

“…While drought is viewed locally as a force majeure event in most cases, detailed research has shown that drought is often related to human activities and could be avoided with proper management [58]. In Fars province, overexploitation of water resources, both groundwater and surface water, led to more frequent hydrological droughts after 1997.…”