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The WaterStrategyMan (WSM) Project was supported by the European Commission, under the Fifth Framework Programme, and contributed to the implementation of the Key Action Sustainable Management and Quality of Water within the Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (EESD) Specific Programme (Contract No: EVK1-CT-2001-00098).
The goal of the WaterStrategyMan project was to develop and evaluate alternative strategies for regulating and managing water resource and demand management in Southern European regions, characterized by water deficiency problems. The central objective was to arrive at:
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Regional strategies, which could guarantee sustainable water use,
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A set of water management guidelines, and
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Protocols of implementation.
To that end, project methodology, tools and outputs can enable decision makers to delineate and assess a wider range of integrated water management options, and eventually select and implement relevant water schemes for mitigating water stress and achieving adequate water cost recovery. These developments were formulated and evaluated for selected typical regions and watersheds and therefore may easily be applied to any similar region.
The specific objectives of the Project included:
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The definition of a typology of water deficient arid and semi-arid regions in terms of a) socio-economic, cultural and environmental characteristics related to present and prospective development policies, b) water resources, water supply, use patterns, water management practices and policy-making functions.
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The formulation of principles of integrated water resources management frameworks appropriate for arid and semi-arid regions, in the context of implementing the Water Framework Directive, and also addressing the aspect of intersectoral competitive uses.
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The development of a methodology for outlining/analysing alternative supply/demand scenarios and evaluating each intervention through the use of a multi-criteria approach that takes into account cost, benefits, efficiency, social and environmental implications.
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The development of a Decision Support System as an integral part of the above methodology that would be utilized in analyzing quantitative and qualitative impacts, in describing the entire gamut of potential responses, and in suggesting appropriate solutions.
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The selection of a set of representative cases, according to an elaborated typology, conceptualised as paradigms, with the purpose of providing concrete examples of implementation/evaluation steps.
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The detailed analysis of the identified paradigms through the development and assessment of alternative scenarios on current and future allocation of water resources.
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The development of alternative integrated water resources management options for each paradigm that take into account the full economic and environmental costs.
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The development of improved resource demand/management strategies on the basis of the lessons learned from the six paradigms.
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The formulation of widely applicable guidelines and protocols for the efficient implementation of the Water Framework Directive under different socio-economic conditions or assumptions.
Project Participants
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National Technical University of Athens, School of Chemical Engineering, Section II, Greece (Project Coordinator)
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Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Facultaet fuer Bauningenieurwesen, Lehrstuhl fuer Hydrologie, Wasserwirtschaft und Umwelttechnik, Germany
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ProGeA S.r.l. - Protezione e Gestione Ambientale, Italy
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Office International de l' Eau, Service National d' Information sur l' Eau, France
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The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Agricultural Economics and Management, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Israel
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Water Development Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Cyprus
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INSULA - International Scientific Council for Island Development - Canary Islands Section, Spain
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AEOLIKI LTD, Environmental and Energy Management Consultants, Cyprus
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Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Departamento de Engeneria Civil, Portugal
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