Water scarcity under a changing climate: the future of agriculture in the Mediterranean
Pedro Beça (cE3c – eChanges)
Water scarcity is a reality in several parts of the world, and climate change scenarios foresee increasing effects on water resources. This is very relevant in areas such as the Mediterranean region, with significant impacts on future availability of water for agriculture and human consumption.
This presentation will show the results of climate change effects on future water availability, in two multipurpose reservoirs that are part of a system that provides water to several municipalities in the region of Évora, as well as to agriculture in an area of about 3000ha. This supply system currently receives water from the Alqueva reservoir and is dependent on this transfer to be able to provide the necessary reliability of these reservoirs.
These results have the potential to be replicated to other water supply systems particularly in multipurpose reservoirs management. Benefiting from this potential and associating the application of these models to climate change scenarios, the evaluation of the impacts to land use or the adoption of more sustainable farming practices is a determinant result to define management strategies, minimize risks and develop adaptation strategies for an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
Thursday, February 10, 2022, at 12h00-13h00 (Lisbon, Portugal time)