CASE STUDIES

GLOBAQUA assesses the effects of water scarcity on aquatic ecosystems and their services by focusing on six river basins. The selected basins encompass a rich set of socio-ecological conditions (forested mountainous areas, highly populated regions relying on water transfers, agricultural areas and industrial clusters), and a wide geographic coverage, but are all affected by water scarcity either due to climatic or societal reasons. Each basin focuses on a specific set of stressors to illustrate different management scenarios.

Two basins from the Mediterranean European region (Ebro in Spain and Evrotas in Greece), as well as one north African basin (Souss Massa in Morocco) were selected to obtain a Mediterranean perspective where water scarcity is the main problem. One continental basin (Sava which is transboundary in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia), one Alpine basin (Adige in Italy) and one UK river basin (Anglian River basin district) were included in order to have a European dimension where water scarcity is a growing issue because of multiple uses and unequal distribution of precipitations.

In Adige, Ebro, Evrotas and Sava extensive field work will be done, while in Anglian River basin district and Souss Massa the existing data will be used to evaluate different management scenarios.