Climate change, water and security in the Mediterranean: Introduction to the special issue

摘要

Climate change is impacting the Mediterranean region in manifold and distinct ways. Observed trends and projections for the future indicate a strong susceptibility to changes in the hydrological regimes, an increasing general shortage of water resources and consequent threats to water availability and management However, it must be clearly stated that current uncertainties in climate projections and subsequent impact models, a yet incomplete understanding of the impact of a climate change signal on economic mechanisms or the lack of an elaborate and integrated human security conceptual framework are imposing strong limitations on water-related decision-making under conditions of climate change. This is particularly true due to the general lack of regional data and the yet unresolved mismatch of spatial and temporal scales of operation from different scientific perspectives. This Special Issue, composed of sixteen original contributions, illustrates current interdisciplinary approaches to mitigate the existing gaps in the understanding of climate change impacts on water and security in the Mediterranean region. It draws its findings from the research projects CLIMB (Climate Induced Changes on the Hydrology of Mediterranean Basins) and WASSERMed (Water Availability and Security in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean), both funded under the Seventh Research Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (FP7).