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Case Study River Basins

BeWater Impact

  • The cooperation of stakeholders from governmental and non-governmental organizations and from different sectors (water, agriculture, forestry, environment, urban planning, education) facilitated the development of a broad and diverse set of adaptation options a number of which are already being or planned to be implemented
  • Different measures are being implemented before the end of the project
  • The proposals included in the River basin Adaptation Plans are suitable to be mainstreamed into different policy development processes
  • BeWater is considered by decision makers as a stepping-stone to establish a significant collaboration between science and society

Visit the Case Study pages to read about the impact in each Case Study River Basin.

rmel-tun pedieos-cyp tordera-sp vipava-slo
Pedieos, Cyprus Rmel, Tunisia Tordera, Spain Vipava, Slovenia

About the case studies

BeWater selected four River Basins spread across the region in which to carry out Case Studies for the project. These are representative of various Mediterranean conditions with regard to climate, topography, environment, socio-economic and political conditions, land use and water demands. Studies carried out in these river basins can be extrapolated to other Mediterranean areas.

The Case Study River Basins (CSRBs) are located in the four cardinal points of the Mediterranean: Spain in the west, Slovenia in the north, Cyprus in the east and Tunisia in the south.

The selection of small river basins as case studies is essential for the BeWater approach. The choice of small areas provides a simplified complexity and facilitates understanding of the basic processes which underpin river basin dynamics. Small areas, highly monitored and scientifically assessed, facilitate the identification, establishment and control of cause-and-effect relationships among processes involved, enabling the design of a methodology which can later be out-scaled and extrapolated to more complex systems. Additionally, essential links between society and territory are much stronger at this spatial scale.

Map View

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Table View

 

CSRB Rmel, Tunisia   Pedieos, Cyprus   Tordera, Spain   Vipava, Slovenia  
         
AREA
INHABITANTS 
740 km2
40 000 inh
125 km2
150,000 inh
865 km2
157.500 inh
598 km2
52.000 inh
MAIN LAND USES  Forest (42%),
agriculture (31%),
urban (27%)
Forest (23%)
agriculture (65%)
Forest (81%),
agriculture (10%)
Forest (61%),
agriculture (33%)
KEY ISSUES
High pressure on
water resources
by multiple users
High pressure on
rivers by
agriculture,
industry,
settlements and
river regulation.
Flooding,
agricultural
groundwater use,
water quality
Limited resources
and increasing
tensions
MAIN CHALLENGES  Droughts and
water scarcity
Droughts, floods,
river restoration
Droughts, floods,
forest fires
(upstream of dam)
Managing water
at river basin scale and
considering the
participatory approach