European indicatorbased assessment of Water Scarcity and Drought

European indicator-based assessment of Water Scarcity and Drought Maggie Kossida George Papoutsoglou ETC/W Thematic Workshop 'Water Quantity and Use' 10 -11 October 2007, EEA, Copenhagen National Technical University of Athens-NTUA

EU Drought Facts increase in annual average EU territory (from 6% to 13%) and population (from 6% to 13%) affected by droughts between the 1976 -1990 period & 1991 -2006 WS & Droughts 2 nd Interim report, June 2007, DG ENV

Population exposed to drought events in Europe 2007 -04 (UNEP) Areas of water surplus and deficit Spanish National Hydrological Plan 2007 -04 (UNEP)

Overall economic impacts of drought events in the past 30 years: 100 billion € at EU level The annual average impact doubled between the 1976 -1990 period and the next 1991 -2006 Up to 6. 2 billion €/year in the most recent years, exceptional cost of 8. 7 billion € in 2003. only cover economic costs are covered (social & environmental costs not included) WS & Droughts 2 nd Interim report, June 2007, DG ENV

EU Commission Communication Water Scarcity and Drought Communication 18 th July Communication from the COM to the EU Parliament & the Council addressing the challenge of WS & drought in the EU {SEC(2007)993}{SEC(2007)996} 2. 3. 1. Developing drought risk management plans 2. 3. 2. Developing an observatory and an early warning system on droughts 2. 7. 1. A water scarcity and drought information system throughout Europe The issue: reliable info is indispensable for decision-making, shared definitions are necessary, WISE provides the ideal platform to integrate and disseminate such information Way forward: present an annual EU assessment, based on agreed indicators and data provided by MS and stakeholders to the COM or EEA on a yearly basis

EEA WS&D Activities ETC/W + ETC/LUSE A. Assessment of ongoing activities and Gap Analysis ü main institutional/organisational and knowledge related problems in ü tackling WS&D problems further needs and development of both a European Drought Observatory and a WS&D information System B. Development of a coherent WS&D indicator System (WSDIndi. S) as central part of the information network

EEA WS&D Activities C. Networking Activities • setting up a core network (EEA/ETC, JRC, DG, experts) • setting up of a wider network (MS representatives, RBD authorities etc. ) • for consultation on the activities, dissemination etc. enhance EU internal and international information exchange in a well accessible information platform D. Defining the framework of a Drought Observation& Information Network • definition and outline of DOINet • next steps to be taken on all institutional and organizational levels

Towards a WSDIndi. S The issues: • diverse geographical and temporal distribution • wide variety of disciplines affected • many scales on which drought operates on make it difficult to develop an index to measure it Rather a WS & Drought Indicator System (WSDIS) ü could nicely fit into the WISE platform ü define appropriate level of disaggregation ü stepwise approach, start w/selected pilot RBDs/RBs ~ data availability ü ü ü (WEI_reg) evaluate adequate triggers & thresholds follow the DPSIR framework may also refer to the US Experimental Objective Blends of Drought ü Indicators establishment of a stable data flow to ensure maintenance of the indicator set

DPSIR Indicator framework for WS&D Pressure Driving Force Clim State Impact Response Precipitation Na tu ral fa ct or s ate Evapotranspiration Chan ge Temperature Population density Precipitation deficit Ecological minimum flow Water Exploitation Index WEI Reservoir storage an m ad e fa ct or s Water use per sector Irrigation Tourism River discharge GW/aquifer level Loss of wetlands Salt water intrusion Implementation of DMPs Water efficiency Investment supply/demand side measures Water price Water restrictions

Outline Questionnaire on WS&D Main Objective: collect information, focusing on existing available products and indicators used for identifying, assessing and managing these phenomena. serve as a basis of grouping the retrieved information towards a broader assessment for better sustaining and coordinating the development of indicators on WS&D Structure: Table 1 General info on respondent Table 2 General info on D&WS information products Table 3 Drought indicators used in the Member country/State Table 4 WS indicators used in the Member country/State 10 Replies: CY, DE, ES, FI, FR, IT, NL, PT, SI, UK Thank you !

General Info On WS&D Products National or Regional Drought Information homepage Drought report General information products Hydrological bulletins/Water Resources Situation Reports/ Hydrological yearbooks Water resource reports State of Environment water resource chapters Monitoring products Research products Drought monitoring (DM) – incl. remote sensing technologies Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) Drought and water scarcity indicators/indices Major Research Initiatives and/or Projects Drought mitigation and response plan Mitigation and adaptation products Drought management plan Policy/legislation in mitigating drought impacts Economic incentives for drought risk management

Drought Meteorological Indicators 10 Replies Mediterranean: CY, ES, FR, IT, PT Northern: DE, FI, NL, SI, UK

Drought Agricultural Indicators

Drought Hydrological Indicators

Drought Impact Indicators ES, FR, PT, NL, UK * Economic impacts: Damage in agriculture, navigation, tourism using models simulations * Environmental impacts: Mainly wetlands, aquifers and vulnerable areas, Fishes index * Impacts on society: Water quality controls for public supply

Drought Adapt & Mitig. Indicators ES, FR, UK * Spring trades for summer restrictions * Comprehensive system of drought plans. Water Resources Strategy used in Northern Ireland * Long-term water resources plans and strategies consider drought. Temporary pipeline/pumping of potable water if required in Northern Ireland

WS_water availability Indicators * potential water availability * water Deficits (surface and groundwater). Based on models simulations that combine hydrological effects with sector damages

WS_water abstraction Indicators

WS multi-component Indicators ES, NL, UK * water Deficits (surface/water supply deficit, and groundwater/soil moisture deficit). Based on models simulations that combine hydrological effects with sector damages on agriculture, navigation and tourism

WS_env. impacts Indicators * Indicators describing indirectly ecological impacts (on habitats, fish, birds) * Environmental incidents (fish mortalities, algal blooms)

WS_other impacts Indicators ES, DE, FI * Hydropower production ** Length of the period when water level adequate for recreational use

WS Mitig. &Adapt. Indicators *productivity of water (measured as the gross domestic product / water used) Economic instruments: e. g. Water markets, Water supply priority series

Most common variables -Drought Precipitation Reservoir Storage Streamflow Groundwater level Soil moisture Most common parameters -WS Water balance Water Abstractions Most common Impacts parameters Environmental Impacts Economic Impacts Remarks

WEI Regionalization based on the Test Data Exchange 2008

Modified WEI_regional per administrative region: FW Abstractions / Internal Flow Note: Ex. In = 30, 000 mainly in Rhone. Alpes need for RBD/RB scale

Slovak Republic Modified WEI_regional: FW Abstractions / Renewable water resources 2006 Latvia

Estonia

WSDIndi. S Stable Data Flow The Test Data Exchange 2008 served as a first step in: ü streamlining the reporting on the “State & quantity of water resources” ü identifying the countries’ reporting resources and capabilities ü opening the discussion towards common definitions and harmonisation of the reported parameters ü developing a user friendly reporting template/format for the Rep. Sheet#3 With the overall purpose of: ü establishing a stable data flow on water availability & abstractions under WISE ü bridging the data gaps & data uncertainty in estimating water availability and water abstraction (EU Communication 18/07/07) ü supporting the development of WS&D indicators under the DPSIR framework w/proper level of disaggregation ü enhancing reliable in depth State of Environment assessments

Update So far: ü Results from questionnaire – identification of first key parameters & most commonly used indicators - Presented to Core Group for feedback. ü Presentation of the DSPIR framework – feedback – refinement. ü Test Data Exchange 2008 templates sent out for filling – first assessment presented. ü Cross gap analysis in progress ü Analysis of the data exchange and possibilities for a streamlined regular data flow (in progress). ü Water Quantity workshop (June 11 th) - outputs to feed into the Indicators’ development process ü First draft of Indicators to be presented in the SCG ~ October 2008 Thank you for your attention!