CIHEAM Press Review

Thanks to exceptional rainfall in recent weeks, reserves in Moroccan dams have exceeded 6.1 billion cubic meters, more than 10% higher than a year ago. Despite this improvement, the Kingdom's dam policy raises questions about its long-term effectiveness in the face of what has become a structural drought.

Increasing water scarcity is an issue affecting 1.1 billion people with no access to safe water, while 2.7 billion experience water shortages at least once a year. This scarcity is particularly prevalent even in countries that possess adequate water resources, such as India, and Brazil. 

Summer has increased by an average of 36 days across Spain over the last 50 years.
Spain is slipping into a desert climate, according to a new study into the relationship between global heating and drought. 
The Mediterranean country is clearly on the frontlines of climate change in Europe. Now researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona have delved deeper into its climate vitals. 

Hundreds of Sicilians protested on Friday against water shortages and poor water management on the Italian island, hit by a severe drought this year.
People in the city of Agrigento in Sicily demonstrated to draw the attention of local authorities, holding a banner reading "we want water", and shouting "shame, shame" and "water is a right for all, water is a fundamental right".

While tourists flock to the Italian island in greater numbers, a water crisis is intensifying for its rural population

A crushing drought in Sicily has withered fields of grain, deprived livestock of pasture land and fanned a spate of wildfires, causing damage already estimated at 2.7 billion euros this year.
In an attempt to mitigate the effects of the water crisis, the Italian government in early May declared a state of emergency for the southern island, unblocking funds to purchase water tanker trucks, drill wells and renovate pumping and desalination stations. 

Over the thousands of years humans have spent farming the Fertile Crescent, it has never ceased to be a hotbed of innovation.
Today, Iraqis are experimenting with a type of agriculture that may reshape the region: growing plants without soil.
As global warming and environmental degradation cause irreversible changes to the composition of Iraq’s farmland, the soil-free, water-saving science known as hydroponics offers the country of 40 million — home to two of the world’s most famous rivers — a chance to adapt to this new reality.

Despite recent rains topping up reservoirs, an unusually warm winter has made water shortages worse and drought is a consequence of a bigger problem.
January, February and March are likely to have been Spain’s warmest first quarter since records began in 1961.
National meteorological agency Aemet said on Tuesday that the average temperature in mainland Spain during the first three months of the year was 9.5C. That is 1.9C higher than the average for this time of year and 0.1C higher than the previous record set in 1997.

Environmental groups have said this unusual solution doesn't solve long-term water management problems.
Catalonia is experiencing one of the worst droughts in living memory. At no point in the last century have water shortages been so severe.
The reservoirs that supply most of the region, including Barcelona,  are at an all-time low - less than 16 per cent of capacity. 

Climate change and its consequences, including a local decline in rainfall, should concern everyone. The WSC has drawn up a 10-year high-level national investment plan, worth over €315 million to future-proof the local water and wastewater sector till 2033 and beyond and we are investing in the latest energy-saving desalination technology and installing solar farms so that by 2025, we would have increased our renewable energy production by 80 per cent, says Karl Cilia, Water Services Corporation CEO.

In Istanbul, diminished rainfall this year has led to a drastic drop in water levels at three out of 10 dams, down to around only 3%.
The city, experiencing one of its most significant droughts in recent years, faces the impact of prolonged below-average rainfall and temperatures consistently exceeding seasonal norms, causing some of the dams that supply water to dry up.

With half of the world's population already facing water scarcity, countries are joining forces to tackle the global crisis. We visited Jordan and Cyprus, two countries facing water challenges, where various solutions are being implemented. #TheRoadToGreen

With fears that affected islands will receive insufficient winter rainfall, aquifers are under pressure to perform well in the coming months.

Southeast Europe was “trapped” this summer under a subtropical warm air mass from Western Africa and the Mediterranean Sea.

The country's major olive-growing regions are hit by heatwaves and drought. Production is anticipated to fall to historic lows.

A relentless drought coupled with extended heatwaves is severely impacting Italy’s olive groves a couple of months before the early harvest.

The southern regions, responsible for most Italian olive oil production, bear the brunt of these harsh weather conditions.

Coldiretti Puglia, a prominent farmers’ association, has warned that the region’s olive oil production may decline by more than 50 percent.

Mohammed Mabrouk, a farmer in Matai, Minya governorate, struggled to secure enough water for his soy crop. The water hyacinths that have long plagued the nearby Fataika canal are becoming more of a threat to his livelihood with each passing year. “It’s become too much for us to handle,".

A total of 20 new measures to rehabilitate water supply systems in nine municipalities in the Algarve, with a value of 16.8 million euros, have been approved today, according to the Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL).

Water, an essential natural resource to life on earth, is under threat. Water scarcity and insecurity, driven largely by climate change, have become critical issues worldwide, further exacerbated by inefficiencies in water use and management.

Local authorities say it is a more economical and environmentally sustainable solution than shipping in water.
Spain’s drought-stricken region of Catalonia will install a floating desalination plant to help the city of Barcelona guarantee its drinking water supply, regional authorities said Thursday.
Barcelona already relies on Europe’s largest desalination plant for domestic use to compensate over three years of below average rainfall that have led to a historic drought made worse by climate change. In February, Catalonia's regional government declared a drought emergency for much of the surrounding region. 

Zaragoza, 22 March 2024.- CIHEAM Zaragoza has invited a panel of experts to participate in the webinar to celebrate the World Water Day (22 March). Consensus among the participants is clear: investing in human capital and developing water management skills are crucial strategies to combat water scarcity in Mediterranean regions, which are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The United Nations has described desertification as “the greatest environmental challenge of our time”, and climate change only worsens it.
Contrary to what is widely thought, desertification is not necessarily the natural expansion of existing deserts. It is ultimately a human-induced process exacerbated by extreme weather conditions like droughts and heavy rains associated with climate change.

Six consecutive years of drought have left Moroccan reservoirs at critical levels, prompting a big drop in the area of land being irrigated, the country’s water and agriculture ministers have revealed. According to Reuters, by mid-January, Morocco’s average reservoir filling rate had dropped to 23.2 per cent from 31.5 per cent a year earlier, water minister Nizar Baraka told a meeting on Tuesday.

Hydroponics uses just 10 per cent of the water needed for traditional cultivation.
Amid water scarcity and shrinking arable land, some smallholders in Egypt are switching to soilless farming.
The technique uses substrates like sand or foam, which significantly reduce the amount of water plants need.
It also cuts the amount of fertiliser needed, which is one of the most expensive agricultural inputs. 
However, experts warn high startup costs and certain crop limitations could limit widespread use in the African nation.