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.
The public sector has an indisputable role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the interrelated nature of the SDGs represents a challenge for the public sector, which has in the last few decades undergone a process of specialization, decentralization and fragmentation. Hence, the establishment of coordination mechanisms within the public sector are needed to ensure implementation. This article introduces an organizational perspective in a participative SDG prioritization process carried out by a public organization: the former Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment (MAPAMA). A case study methodology is used to identify internal collaboration needs in order to address the SDGs and to analyze the driving and restraining forces operating within the organization so that the required organizational changes can be initiated. Our findings reveal that the organizational perspective is key in supporting SDG implementation and boosting the transformative capacity that underpins the 2030 Agenda. Public organizations must combine different coordination approaches, according to the demands that each specific SDG target makes upon the organization. Furthermore, engaging internal agents in participative processes for the development of the implementation is essential to reproducing the dynamics of internal collaboration that will be needed in future stages of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda.
Farmers play a key role in water management at all levels and their role becomes even more relevant during droughts, when water systems are under increased pressure. This paper presents a study based on interviews to farmers in eastern Spain using different types of water sources, to explore how that factor influences perceptions and actions during droughts. Results show that farmers often perceive droughts through non-climatic factors, e.g. the volume of water stored in the reservoirs or water restrictions, rather than through meteorological parameters. The type of water source highly influences farmers' perception of drought and the type of strategies implemented to face it, confirming the key role of groundwater in buffering drought. In areas using surface water, practices to mitigate impacts include temporary changes in cropping practices, temporary modification of water distribution shifts or the use of emergency wells. In areas irrigated with different water sourcesgroundwater, reclaimed water-farmers' actions address mainly permanent water scarcity problems and their concerns are focused on the long term viability of their activity-in terms of cost of water or water quality-rather than on variability of rainfall. Both in surface and groundwater-based irrigation areas, local responses often require close cooperation among users, as they may involve redistributing the available resources, sharing extra costs, or combining water from different sources to achieve the desired water quality.
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