Social Issues in Water Management in the Mediterranean Countries

Abstract

Water resources are a societal issue. Considered frequently as a common good, water is essential to life and to numerous human activities, and suffers their negative impacts. In the Mediterranean region, the significance of irrigated agriculture, the intense urbanisation, and the tourism are increasing their demands for water, requiring therefore important efforts to find new strategies to better manage this scarce resource. The Mediterranean region has a key common environmental feature that is related with the existence of a more or less longer dry and hot season. This creates important stress on water resources due to irrigation needs. In fact, in this region, irrigation cannot be seen as a way to increase and improve agricultural productivity. Irrigation in the Mediterranean region is essential to ensure agricultural productivity. Furthermore, there is a clear contrast between northern areas (receiving abundant water resources from temperate regions) and southern areas that are adjacent to semi-arid regions, with very scarce water resources. This report has three main chapters: section 2 refers to the current situation in terms of planning and participation in water resource management in the Mediterranean countries. It also describes the institutional setting and decisional context for water management in the Mediterranean countries; section 3 outlines the key actors and stakeholders involved in water management in the Mediterranean Countries as a means to illustrate the importance of social networks in water management and in decision-making processes; section 4 highlights the use of DSS tools in each country.