Addressing Water Scarcity & Quality in Mediterranean Agriculture, Appunti di Biologia Dello Sviluppo

Scarica Addressing Water Scarcity & Quality in Mediterranean Agriculture e più Appunti in PDF di Biologia Dello Sviluppo solo su Docsity! Water resources and fisheriest managment in the Mediterrenean area The module that I’m gonna talk about , is focused on the SDG’s (sustainable development goals) especially referred to water and the main difficulties of its implementation in the Mediterrenaan area. The biggest part of the water is used in agriculture (70% of total water use) , so the agriculture is not only the problem but also the solution to the water crisis. Six of the SDG’s are focused on the water and they are not only refer to achieving access to water , sanitation , and hygiene, but also to achieving sustainable water management throughout the world, addressing the challenges of water quality, efficiency, water scarcity, integrated water resources management, and the protection of aquatic ecosystems. Most Mediterranean countries have achieved over 75% coverage with at least basic drinking water services. And still about 20 millions of Mediterraneans do not have direct access to drinking water, especially in the rural areas of the south and east. Also still about 20 milion people don’t have direct access to sanitation especially in Morocco and Algeria , the provision of water , sanitation and wastewater are becoming even more a struggle and a serius challenge in these areas. Moreover the ploblem linked to water depend on the the mediterranena climate and the climate change , infact in the Mediterranena areas there are a lot of differencies between hot regions with arid or semi-arid climate and mountanous regions with permanent glaciers ; these differencies make the water resources unevenly spread both in time and space. The high water scarcity, particularly in the south and east, compromises the environmental flows. The growing water scarcity coupled with the uncertainties that climate change may bring only reinforce the need to adapt both water policies and land planning policies that impact water management. Water, needs to be used wisely, resources must be used sparingly in ways that meet the needs of people and the environment. Water quality is highly affected by pollution due to human activities and concentration of population in urban and coastal areas. There are some examples and case studies focused on Spain , Egypt and the case of pasta production in the Mediterranena diet. Spain is one of the driest country in the European Union , Spain is mainly producing water intensive, low value crops. In order to allow the preservation of the environment without damaging the economy and employment of the agricultural sector, a more efficient allocation of water resources is desirable. The current paradigm of water and food self-sufficiency has to be revisited, taking into account the role of trade in the water policy. Another example is the case of Egypt. Egypt is a net virtual water importing country, particularly associated to rainfed crops, such as wheat, maize and soybean coming mainly from the USA, Brazil and Argentina. These ‘flows’ play a role in ameliorating water scarcity and FRANCESCA POMPEI