ABOUT US

The project Advancing non conventional water management for innovative climate-resilient water governance in the Mediterranean Area (AG-WaMED) aims at providing innovative, evidence-based participatory management solutions to water scarcity governance that can be scaled at the Mediterranean level. In particular, the project will tackle the problem of water scarcity by including Non Conventional Waters (NCW) (wastewater, runoff water harvesting, desalination) among the available resources to be included in water governance policies. The project will reach its envisioned objectives through a transdisciplinary approach, integrating the state of the art of land, water and agronomic modelling to support evidence-based water management in four Living Labs (LLs) located in Mediterranean watersheds (including a transboundary case). A participatory modelling suite will allow the co-definition and co-evaluation of different water allocation scenarios for improving water governance in each LL, taking into account the decisive impact of NCW use to ensure climate-resilient strategies under a climate change vision. A flexible yet comprehensive socio-economic approach procedure will enable the evaluation of such scenarios and will trigger a feedback mechanism to generate an adaptive learning environment in the AG-WaMED LLs. The full process will inform new water allocation models and will produce an innovative framework for improving water governance and for reducing conflicts in water-stressed contexts of the Mediterranean.

Period of Implementation

Sep 1, 2022 - Aug 31, 2025
Total Budget

EUR 2,453,921.00

OUR IMPACT

Goals

The aim of the project is to provide innovative, evidence-based participatory management solutions to water scarcity governance that can be scaled at the Mediterranean level.

Objectives

- To foster participatory and equitable water governance models for Mediterranean catchments which are also socially inclusive and cost-effective, developing innovative procedures for multi-actor stakeholders’ involvement in selected demo sites - To innovate water resources and crop production systems modelling procedures and Decision Support Systems (DSS) by including NCW sources as a method for increasing water availability also considering climate change scenarios - To narrow the implementation gap between European, national and international rules and societal and institutional compliance, through the definition of integrated watershed management plans in the demo sites and at regional scale - To promote the AG-WaMED approach through communication, dissemination and exploitation, including production of local-, national-, and Mediterranean-scale policies for better land and water governance, water allocation and stakeholders involvement, including training activities

Problems and Needs Analysis

Severe water scarcity is increasingly affecting different countries in the Mediterranean area, and future climate change projections point to a fast acceleration of the phenomenon. It is expected that all water-demanding sectors, most of which are crucial for Northern and Southern Mediterranean economies, will be negatively impacted (MedECC, 2020). In this framework, allocating available water in an equitable way and dealing with consequent water-related conflicts is a challenge that needs to be urgently addressed. A promising option is to experiment and develop the use of Non Conventional Waters (NCW) (wastewater, runoff water harvesting, desalination) and this implies considering those waters into innovative and adaptive water governance schemes (Qadir et al., 2007; UN-Water, 2020). Research at the Mediterranean scale provided evidence of the applicability of technologies to use NWC for multiple purposes. However, a “good governance” for the equitable use of such water resources is far to be reached and will need an advancement of current management practices to be fostered by integrating innovative approaches and evidence-based, co-produced decision-making. In this framework, a multi-actor approach that can guarantee the representation of multiple stakeholders in the decision-making process will be promoted to improve water governance schemes.

Intervention Strategy(ies)

AG-WaMED project aims to promote participatory, innovative and climate-resilient governance of the water resource. To achieve this objective, a multidisciplinary methodology will be implemented, including the hydrological modeling of critical areas in the Mediterranean basin and the simulation of the use of non-conventional water management technologies. The results of the latter will be elaborated and discussed in Living Labs, territorial laboratories for comparison with the main stakeholders, to make the proposed solutions truly implementable in the local selected realities. In the framework of the project, and also among the Living Labs stakeholders, the estimation of monetary values for benefits expected to accrue from the use of NCW which are not valued in markets (non-use values) to inform the socio-economic analysis is envisioned as well.

Impact Pathway

There are some relevant barriers involved with sustainable water resources management at the Mediterranean scale, that AG-WaMED will address as follows: - Regulations that aren’t receptive of innovative decision-support tools: an innovative modelling and optimization procedure including NCW will be created and tested in 4 different case studies. This solution has the potential to allow the integration of ICT tools in water resources management in the LLs and potentially at the Mediterranean scale. - Lack of innovative solutions to take advantage of non-conventional and low-quality waters to mitigate water scarcity: The innovative solutions of AG-WaMED will not only promote the use of NCW, but will be based on an informed co-creation process through the LLs, that will build on scientific data accounting for all dimensions of sustainability - Poor stakeholders’ acceptance of the Innovative solutions: AG-WaMED’s multi-actor approach will lead to the creation of several policy documents. One Watershed management plan for each LLs to be proposed to river basin management administration and local and national government, 5 National policy documents for NCW upscaling (Italy, Spain, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria), 1 Mediterranean policy document for the integration of land and water governance and 1 policy document for upscaling and out-scaling of NCW at Mediterranean scale - Need to develop new water governance organizational models: the created policy structures will be based on common protocols considering effectiveness, pertinence to local conditions, easiness, etc. and will also include local traditional knowledge and legislation in force. The LLs will co-create solutions for different and varying Mediterranean socio-cultural and environmental conditions, providing solutions applicable in other Mediterranean areas - Local conflicts for resource use: all activities will be based on stakeholder-inclusive participation and consensus, including water use choice and allocation scenarios - Implementation gaps between rules and societal compliance on the ground: co-created and evidence-based policies should limit this problem

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