WASSERMed

WASSERMed is an EC-funded Collaborative Research Project that will build on current climate projections in order to address present and future uncertainties in hydrological budgets in the Mediterranean area. Starting from the assessment of changes in mean flows, frequency and magnitude of extreme precipitation, run-off, stream flows and ground water balance, the project will expand towards the recognition and quantification of social and economic factors that affect future threats to water security and increase the vulnerability of water systems. The Project is funded through the 7th Framework Programme (Grant Agreement Number: 244255) and spans a duration of 3 years (January 2010 - December 2012).

The Project emphasizes on the multi-disciplinary analysis of climate change impacts in the Mediterranean area, within the frame of water-related security threats. Specific objectives that outline the overall project approach include:

• The reduction of the uncertainty of climate change impacts on hydrology in identified regions, by improving existing climatic and hydrological models, exploiting outputs from meta-analysis and ensembles, and tailoring forecasts and scenarios to specific regions.
• The improved assessment of climate effects on water resources, water uses and expected security risks, to be achieved: (a) through integrated research for 5 Case Study areas, and (b) by focusing on sensitive and vulnerable sectors to gain improved understanding of the specific characteristics of water demand and technical solutions,  and of potential conflicts over allocation and use.
• The contribution to a better basis for achieving water security, by identifying, analysing and evaluating measures that can improve resilience to short-term water shocks and contribute to long-term adaptation to climate change and mitigation of its impacts on water availability.

WASSERMed forms part of a cluster of independent EU projects, together with CLIMB and CLICO, which also address environmental and social aspects of climate-induced changes as threats to security.

 1.  Climate change in the Mediterranean: Observed trends and future projections

 2.  Macroeconomic Effects on Climate Change in the Mediterranean Region

 3.  Climate change Impacts on the Mediterranean Agriculture

 4.  Climate change impacts on tourism in the Mediterranean Region

 5.  A GIS-based tool for assessing climate change impacts on tourism

 6.  The WASSERMed Case Studies:Development process and tools

 7.  Water balance modelling in the WASSERMed Case Studies

 8.  Climate change impacts and adaptation in Syros island, Greece

 9.  Climate change impacts and development perspectives in Sardinia, Italy

10. Climate change impacts and adaptation options in the Rosetta area, Egypt

11. Climate change impacts and adaptation in the Merguellil catchment, Tunisia

12. Climate change impacts and adaptation in the Jordan River Basin, Jordan

• Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Italy
• University of Exeter (UNEXE), United Kingdom
• Centro Internazionale di Alti Studi Agronomici Mediterranei (CIHEAM-IAMB)
• CLU srl, Italy
• National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece
• Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain
• National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension (NCARE), Jordan
• Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany
• Institut de Recherche pour le développement (IRD), France
• Environment and Climate Research Institute (ECRI-NWRC), Egypt
• Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT), Tunisia
• Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan (FAUJ), Jordan