ABOT: Assessment of water Balances and Optimisation based Target setting across EU River Basins
Funding EU programme: Desertification 2011 – DG Environment
Period: December 2011-March 2013 (15 months)
Partners: Leader, IRPI-CNR, Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection, National Research Council, Italy; SEVEN, SEVEN Engineering Consultants, Greece; UACEG, University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Bulgaria, NTUA, National Technical University of Athens, Greece; UFZ, Helmholtz – Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH, Germany.
Description: The overall aim of the project was to support the European Commission’s effort to identify means and develop prevention activities to halt desertification in Europe, by focusing on complementing EU water resources balances elaborated in the framework of the System of Economic and Environmental Accounts for Water (SEEAW) and supplementing ongoing projects which tackle water scarcity, droughts and desertification. For the pilot areas, the project established a clear overview of data availability for water balance modelling, developed detailed water resources balances and identified management, technological and economic measures allowing the setting up of optimal water management in the while involving local stakeholders and water managers. Moreover, the project derived sector specific targets regarding water efficiency, water-reuse, ecosystem services, land-use and climate change adaptation which will allow the preservation and/or restoration of the natural water balance and carried out a sensitivity analysis for these proposed targets for 3 alternative futures (climate and socioeconomic).