Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group ITALIAN EXPERIENCES AND QUESTIONNAIRE ON PILOT RIVER BASINS Giuseppina Monacelli Saverio Venturelli Helsinki, 30 September 2010

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group SUMMARY Italian reference frame Drought bulletin Local Action Programme to combat drought and desertification River Basin Management Plans The four Italian River Basins which have answered the questionnaire Outcomes Critical aspects in the questionnaire filling in and suggestions Other initiatives

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Italian reference frame Directive 2000/60/CE transposed into Italian legislation – Legislative Decree 152/06 Art. 98 paragraph 2 Regions according to Basin Authorities approve specific rules on water save in agriculture based on uses planning, the correct individuation of the sector needs and on the control of the real abstractions. Art. 98 paragraph 3 Regions and Basin Authorities verify if there are areas prone to or at risk of drought and any process of desertification in their territory. They mark these areas as vulnerable to desertification. For the areas mentioned in paragraph 2 specific protection measures are adopted in the District plan and its implementation according to the criteria established in the national action plan provided by the CIPE deliberation dated 22 December 1998 and published in the Official Journal of the Italian Republic n. 39 of 17 February 1999. Drought bulletin: instrument for quantitative monitoring of drought condition in Italy and Europe, through monthly – updated maps of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) National Committee to Combat Drought and Desertification National Action Program - Local Action Program of Emilia-Romagna Region (LAP, 2009) Sardinia River Basin Management Plans

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Hydrological drought condition Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is a meteorological drought index it is based only on precipitation values and provides indication on the amount of precipitation in relation to the normal values SPI 3 Months May – Aug 2009 May – Aug 2010 Source: http://www.isprambiente.it/pre_meteo/siccitas/index.html

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Socio-economical drought conditions SPI 12 Months May – Aug 2009 May – Aug 2010 Source: http://www.isprambiente.it/pre_meteo/siccitas/index.html

Integration of River Basin Management Plans Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Integration of River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) and Drought Management Plans (DMPs) Example: Sardinia Region Each month in the web page of Sardinia Region the "Bulletin of the artificial reservoirs of the multisectorial water system of Sardinia" is published. It provides the values of the monitoring indicators and the drought pre-warning for each reservoir issued by the general directorate of the Agency for the hydrographic district of Sardinia. this bulletin allows the risks assessment and the inclusion of drought in the general planning in order to start a proactive management of this extreme event. According to the indicator level I (frequency of non overcoming of the contained volumes) the decision on the starting up (or not) of the procedures established in the crisis management plan can be taken. In perfect harmony with the indication of the “Drought Management Plan Report Including Agricultural, Drought Indicators and Climate Change Aspects”, Water Scarcity and Droughts Expert Network, European Commission.

Drought and Desertification National Action Programme Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Drought and Desertification National Action Programme Local Action Programmes Example: Emilia-Romagna Region The Local Action Programme of the Region Emilia-Romagna has focused on the improper use of land and of water resources in areas characterised by climatic fragility with growing “drought phenomena”. Through meteorological and agro-meteorological indicators it was possible to identify the regional areas more subject to climate change, with the highest anomalies in precipitations and in the temperature regimes. structural solutions responsive to the requests without actions of mitigation solutions for the agro-alimentary re-equilibration of the entire basin, considering the opportunity for mitigation solutions providing the sharing of the social and environmental value of the resource Lamone Valley critical water balance In addition: the Emilia-Romagna Region has recognized as “water stress areas” (subject to water balance deficit) the main irrigation areas depending on surface water derivations of the following rivers: Torrente Nure, Torrente Parma, Torrente Enza, Fiume Taro, Torrente Arda and Fiume Trebbia (Deliberation n. 1859 of Regional Council on December 18th, 2006, and according to the Article 18 of the Water Protection Plan)

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Questionnaire topics Data request for water scarcity and drought indicator system (WSDiS) N° Indicator 1 Population 10 2 Economy 24 3 Land Use 9 4 Infrastructure 14 5 Quality – Environmental 6 Education and Awareness 7 Responses Total 79 Request for RBDs to participate in Water Scarcity and Drought Indicators Test Case Exercise Perhaps too many ? Too detailed?

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group The four Italian River Basins which have answered to the questionnaire Padano River Basin District - Po River Basin Authority Northern Apennine River Basin District - Arno River Basin Authority Chiana Valley Area Serchio River Basin District - Serchio River Basin Authority Southern Apennine River Basin District - Liri/Volturno Garigliano River Basin Authority Fucino Basin Lower Volturno Basin

Po River Basin Authority Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Po River Basin Authority Beginning of the activities to prevent and to forecast water crisis into the basin First results included into the Water Balance Bulletins Tables of the available water quantity and of the abstracted water in the Po river basin available at the link: http://www.hortus.it/adbpo/ Answers questionnaire Source: Data Po RBA on ISPRA’s map

Arno River Basin Authority Chiana Valley Area Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Arno River Basin Authority Chiana Valley Area Questionnaire answers Source: Data Arno RBA on maps of ISPRA and Arno

Serchio River Basin Authority Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Serchio River Basin Authority Questionnaire answers Source: Data Serchio RBA on ISPRA’s map

Liri/Volturno Garigliano River Basin Authority Fucino Basin Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Liri/Volturno Garigliano River Basin Authority Fucino Basin Questionnaire answers Fucino Basin Source: Data Liri/Volturno Garigliano RBA on ISPRA’s map

Liri/Volturno Garigliano River Basin Authority Lower Volturno Basin Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Liri/Volturno Garigliano River Basin Authority Lower Volturno Basin Questionnaire answers Basso Volturno Basin Source: Data Liri/Volturno Garigliano RBA on ISPRA’s map

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Outcomes (1) % of answers for Italian Districts Distretto Idrografico Appennino Settentrionale Distretto Idrografico Appennino Meridionale

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Outcomes (2) % of answers for indicator for considered area

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Outcomes (3) % of answers with relation to the indicators

Critical aspects in the questionnaire filling in Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Critical aspects in the questionnaire filling in Spatial scale The information required is collected in Italy through different institutional channels at varied geographical scale. Therefore, it is very difficult for the District Authorities to aggregate all these data. Italian Water Service is articulated in ATOs (92) with the involvement of sectorial entities such as the hydroelectric power managers, agricultural and reclamation consortia, etc. Consequently, it is very difficult to homogenizate data. Temporal scale The information is mainly annual and problems rose in filling mouthy data. Furthermore: Why the water quantity data have not been introduced in this questionnaire? How the quantity and socio– economic data could be integrated? Which indicators could be further developed with the collected information?

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group Other initiatives ISPRA, Department for internal and marine waters protection, is participating in the II common call of the coordination action "Integrated water Resource Management" IWRM-Net of the VI Frame Programme for Research on consolidation of the national research programmes on all water protection policies, the promotion and dissemination of good practices in WS & drought prevention and forecast, the impacts of climate change on water availability, the economical value of water. ISPRA is collaborating with Mediterranean EUWI Water Scarcity and Drought Working Group. After the conclusion of the Xerochore project new research proposals are developed in the last call to which a large Italian participation is welcome.

Water Scarcity and Drought Expert Group THANKS FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION! FOR MORE INFORMATION saverio.venturelli@isprambiente.it giuseppina.monacelli@isprambiente.it