Adaptation of water resources management to climate change

opportunities identified and articulated by water users and managers. A major challenge will beto ensure that adaptation measures provide services of high quality and reliability as soon as ispracticable, especially to the most vulnerable. Only when individuals and communities view it asin their individual or collective interest to engage will genuine adaptation truly get underway.Knowing stakeholder preferences and involving them in policy formulation, planning andimplementation will therefore be critical. Establishing an inclusive process and securing localstakeholders’ involvement will help develop a common approach based on insight, on-the-groundexperience and community support.MEDITERRANEAN ACTIONS TOWARDS ADAPTATION ON CLIMATE CHANGEParticipants at the Mediterranean Dialogue on Water, Wetlands and Climate Change indicated thatseveral measures to cope with increased climate variability have already been incorporated into waterresource development and management. However, there remains plenty of scope for existing measuresthat reduce vulnerability to be reinforced, while other maladaptive policies need to be eliminated.In the northern Mediterranean, many activities that are consistent with climate change adaptationare encouraged through the EU Framework Directives on Water Resources and Management.The region's water resources have been planned, designed and managed largely on the basis of pasthydrological conditions. Adjusting existing management regimes to account for the growinguncertainty of climate change will become a defining feature of water resource planning over thenext few years. Key objectives include:• reducing current vulnerability through measures such as flood zoning and land use controls;• closing the demand-supply gap, developing demand-side management and drought preparednessprogrammes, reducing water supply leakage, and mobilizing non-conventional sources of water;and• maintaining and restoring key wetland functions, introducing environmental flow policies thatcan cope with a range of conditions and are linked to drought measures, and restoring andmaintaining wetlands and watersheds.In Greece, the government has begun to inform farmers about the potential impacts of climate change.In France, drought preparedness and prevention schemes are part of the legal framework on waterresource development. The French Government is also seeking to speed up the implementation ofPlans for the Prevention of Risks and to improve flood warning systems. Upstream measures such asreforestation are being implemented to prevent floods as part of catchment management. Moroccohas taken steps to increase the number of wastewater plants and wetlands protection measures toreduce current vulnerability to water scarcity. In Italy, actions linked to the 2002 Environmental ActionStrategy have focused on three priorities - water conservation, water quality, and sustainable waterpricing. In Cyprus, measures have been implemented to increase the efficiency of water supply anddevelop non-conventional sources of water, such as desalination, which now makes up more than 10%of freshwater supply. Institutional capacities such as the National Drought Observatory in Morocco canhelp ensure that drought management addresses both current and future climate vulnerability.43