Abstract. Drought is a natural hazard that can cause a wide range of impacts affecting the environment, society, and the economy. Providing an impact assessment and reducing vulnerability to these impacts for regions beyond the local scale, spanning political and sectoral boundaries, requires systematic and detailed data regarding impacts. This study presents an assessment of the diversity of drought impacts across Europe based on the European Drought Impact report Inventory (EDII), a unique research database that has collected close to 5000 impact reports from 33 European countries. The reported drought impacts were classified into major impact categories, each of which had a number of subtypes. The distribution of these categories and types was then analyzed over time, by country, across Europe and for particular drought events. The results show that impacts on agriculture and public water supply dominate the collection of drought impact reports for most countries and for all major drought events since the 1970s, while the number and relative fractions of reported impacts in other sectors can vary regionally and from event to event. The analysis also shows that reported impacts have increased over time as more media and website information has become available and environmental awareness has increased. Even though the distribution of impact categories is relatively consistent across Europe, the details of the reports show some differences. They confirm severe impacts in southern regions (particularly on agriculture and public water supply) and sector-specific impacts in central and northern regions (e.g., on forestry or energy production). The protocol developed thus enabled a new and more comprehensive view on drought impacts across Europe. Related studies have already developed statistical techniques to evaluate the link between drought indices and the categorized impacts using EDII data. The EDII is a living database and is a promising source for further research on drought impacts, vulnerabilities, and risks across Europe. A key result is the extensive variety of impacts found across Europe and its documentation. This insight can therefore inform drought policy planning at national to international levels.

Abstract. Drought is a natural hazard that can cause a wide range of impacts affecting the environment, society, and the economy. Assessing and reducing vulnerability to these impacts for regions beyond the local scale, spanning political and sectoral boundaries, requires systematic and detailed data regarding impacts. This study presents an assessment of the diversity of drought impacts across Europe based on the European Drought Impact report Inventory (EDII), a unique research database that has collected close to 5000 impact reports from 33 European countries. The reported drought impacts were classified into major impact categories, each of which had a number of subtypes. The distribution of these categories and types was then analyzed over time, by country, across Europe and for particular drought events. The results show that impacts on agriculture and public water supply dominate the collection of drought impact reports for most countries and for all major drought events since the 1970s, while the number and relative fractions of reported impacts in other sectors can vary regionally and from event to event. The data also shows that reported impacts have increased over time as more media and website information has become available and environmental awareness has increased. Even though the distribution of impact categories is relatively consistent across Europe, the details of the reports show some differences. They confirm severe impacts in southern regions (particularly on agriculture and public water supply) and sector-specific impacts in central and northern regions (e.g. on forestry or energy production). As a text-based database, the EDII presents a new challenge for quantitative analysis; however, the EDII provides a new and more comprehensive view on drought impacts. Related studies have already developed statistical techniques to evaluate the link between drought indices and impacts using the EDII. The EDII is a living database and is a promising source for further research on drought impacts, vulnerabilities, and risks across Europe. A key result is the extensive variety of impacts found across Europe and its documentation. This data coverage may help drought policy planning at national to international levels.

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Abstract:The paper focuses on the socioeconomic impacts of drought events. Its objective is in particular to explore and study the distributive effects of drought events in the agricultural sector, taking the Po river basin, the most important agricultural area in Italy, as case study area. Its theoretical and methodological approach makes basis on the consumer surplus theory. One of the most remarkable outcomes of this analysis is that the effects of the drought events change considerably according to the social group. As far as agriculture is concerned, it shows that farmers and consumers are affected differently. Farmers can even earn from drought, because of the "price effect" caused by the scarcity of agricultural products; consumers always loses, because of the "quantity effect" and the "price effect". Very different impacts, in terms of sign and magnitude, were also observed among the farmers themselves, in particular when they are distinguished by crop category, and by geographical area.Keywords: drought event; socioeconomic impacts; distributive effects; Po river basin Sommario: Il paper si focalizza sugli impatti socioeconomici degli eventi siccitosi. Obiettivo del paper è in particolare quello di analizzare gli effetti distributivi degli eventi siccitosi nell'agricoltura, studiando il caso del bacino del Po, l'area agricola più grande ed estesa in Italia. L'approccio teorico e metodologico utilizzato si basa sulla teoria del surplus del consumatore. I risultati più rilevanti delle analisi svolte mostrano che gli effetti delle siccità sono socialmente differenziati. Nel settore agricolo si osserva infatti come l'impatto economico sugli agricoltori è diverso da quello che si registra sui consumatori. Gli agricoltori possono perfino guadagnare dalle siccità, a causa del cosiddetto "effetto prezzo", causato dalla scarsità di beni agricoli in periodi siccitosi; mentre i consumatori perdono sempre, a causa del sommarsi dell' "effetto prezzo" e dell' "effetto quantità". Impatti di segno e magnitudine diversa sono stati anche stimati tra gli stessi agricoltori, quando distinti per tipologia di coltivazione e per subarea geografica.Parole chiave: eventi siccitosi; impatti socioeconomici; effetti distributivi; bacino del Po

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Abstract:The excessive use of water is damaging European groundwater and rivers: their environmental conditions are often below the "good status" that-according to Water Framework Directive 2000/60-should be reached by 2015. The already critical situation is tending to get worse because of climate change. Even in water rich countries, urban wastewater is still one of the main sources of water pollution. Currently, urban soil sealing and "conventional" rainwater management, which were planned to quickly move rainwater away from roofs and streets, are increasing the flood risk. "Green" technologies and approaches would permit a reduction in water abstraction and wastewater production while improving urban hydrological response to heavy rains. The Life+ WATACLIC project has been implemented to promote such sustainable technologies and approaches in Italy, OPEN ACCESSWater 2012, 4 1026 however the results show huge difficulties: apparently water saving and sustainable urban water management have only low interest amongst the general public and even with public administrations and the relevant industrial sectors. In such a cultural and technical context, the project is bringing a new point of view to public debate. In the long term, the project will certainly have a positive impact, but most likely it will require more time than initially expected.