Final Report Summary - XEROCHORE (An exercise to assess research needs and policy choices in areas of drought)
XEROCHORE (An exercise to assess research needs and policy choices in areas of drought, http://www.feem-project.net/xerochore/) conducted research aiming to contribute to the European Drought Policy. Three major reviews were conducted and research gaps were identified in the fields of:
1) natural and human-made causes of drought (physical system),
2) social-economic and environmental impacts; and
3) management and policy options, differentiated across sectors, to mitigate the negative impacts of droughts and increase community and ecosystem resilience.
The comprehensive review (natural and human-made causes of drought) explored:
- climatic aspects of drought and hydrological responses such as propagation of the meteorological drought through the hydrological system, and the land-atmosphere feedbacks through soil moisture, shallow groundwater, snow/glaciers, irrigation and dams;
- integrated drought assessment framework (atmosphere and land) that comprises: (i) data needs to advance research, (ii) approaches to detect different types of droughts, (iii) impacts on historical drought (meteorological and hydrological) and its attribution to causes (natural and human influences), (iv) coupling of climate and hydrological models (e.g. downscaling, bias correction, feedbacks), and (iv) the uncertainty quantification in the chain of climate-hydrological models; and
- drought monitoring (incl. early warning) and monthly and seasonal forecasting.
The second comprehensive review (impacts of drought) synthesised knowledge on economic, social and environmental impacts due to drought. In doing so it reviewed a number of recent drought cases, methodologies used for the impact estimation; practical issues making the assessment difficult; and research gaps to which future research should be directed. A wide range of water demand- and supply management (WDM and WSD) instruments have been reviewed and experiences from their application synthesised. The report was completed by the end of September and discussed during a dedicated workshop that will take place in Venice (Italy), 5-7 October 2009.
The third comprehensive review (drought policies and management) report was completed by February 2010 and presented during the Xerochore Final Conference (23-24 February 2010, Brussels). The document provides an overview about the European and international policies and management efforts addressing droughts.
Prior the final conference, the project beneficiaries have organised a science policy event (22 February 2010) meant to brief the key experts and policy makers about the results of the project. The event was supported by the European Parliament member Mrs Cristina Gutierrez-Cortines and attended by staff members of the DG Environment, European Environmental Agency, several river basin authorities, and the Water Directors' expert group on drought.
As a final result and integrating the above reviews, the Xerochore project has produced a comprehensive guidance document with a concise overview of the existing knowledge, research gaps, policy recommendations and where possible, practical advices for water managers and authorities responsible for drought management and relief/reconstruction planning.
The project has set up a network of experts with various backgrounds (e.g. scientists, water resources engineers, stakeholders, planners, policy analysts, decision makers) and invited them to join the European Drought Centre (EDC, http://www.geo.uio.no/edc/) established in 2004. This has resulted into a significant extension of the network
Finally, a set of five science policy briefs has been produced. The policy briefs are closely related to the efforts to put in place the provisions of the Water Framework Directive (WFD, Directive 2000/60).
1) natural and human-made causes of drought (physical system),
2) social-economic and environmental impacts; and
3) management and policy options, differentiated across sectors, to mitigate the negative impacts of droughts and increase community and ecosystem resilience.
The comprehensive review (natural and human-made causes of drought) explored:
- climatic aspects of drought and hydrological responses such as propagation of the meteorological drought through the hydrological system, and the land-atmosphere feedbacks through soil moisture, shallow groundwater, snow/glaciers, irrigation and dams;
- integrated drought assessment framework (atmosphere and land) that comprises: (i) data needs to advance research, (ii) approaches to detect different types of droughts, (iii) impacts on historical drought (meteorological and hydrological) and its attribution to causes (natural and human influences), (iv) coupling of climate and hydrological models (e.g. downscaling, bias correction, feedbacks), and (iv) the uncertainty quantification in the chain of climate-hydrological models; and
- drought monitoring (incl. early warning) and monthly and seasonal forecasting.
The second comprehensive review (impacts of drought) synthesised knowledge on economic, social and environmental impacts due to drought. In doing so it reviewed a number of recent drought cases, methodologies used for the impact estimation; practical issues making the assessment difficult; and research gaps to which future research should be directed. A wide range of water demand- and supply management (WDM and WSD) instruments have been reviewed and experiences from their application synthesised. The report was completed by the end of September and discussed during a dedicated workshop that will take place in Venice (Italy), 5-7 October 2009.
The third comprehensive review (drought policies and management) report was completed by February 2010 and presented during the Xerochore Final Conference (23-24 February 2010, Brussels). The document provides an overview about the European and international policies and management efforts addressing droughts.
Prior the final conference, the project beneficiaries have organised a science policy event (22 February 2010) meant to brief the key experts and policy makers about the results of the project. The event was supported by the European Parliament member Mrs Cristina Gutierrez-Cortines and attended by staff members of the DG Environment, European Environmental Agency, several river basin authorities, and the Water Directors' expert group on drought.
As a final result and integrating the above reviews, the Xerochore project has produced a comprehensive guidance document with a concise overview of the existing knowledge, research gaps, policy recommendations and where possible, practical advices for water managers and authorities responsible for drought management and relief/reconstruction planning.
The project has set up a network of experts with various backgrounds (e.g. scientists, water resources engineers, stakeholders, planners, policy analysts, decision makers) and invited them to join the European Drought Centre (EDC, http://www.geo.uio.no/edc/) established in 2004. This has resulted into a significant extension of the network
Finally, a set of five science policy briefs has been produced. The policy briefs are closely related to the efforts to put in place the provisions of the Water Framework Directive (WFD, Directive 2000/60).