Water framework directive: exploring policy design issues for irrigated systems in Italy

Abstract

Today the EU must deal with a new legal framework: the new water framework directive (WFD) (60/2000/EC). This directive sets up new criteria for water management and promotes the need for policy changes in sectors using water, such as agriculture. This paper deals with the problem of water regulation in agriculture by testing the results of innovative policy instruments, such as the joint regulation of water use and water pollution. The methodology—based on a simulation model that integrates a mathematical programming model and an optimal regulation model—makes it possible to quantify water demand and optimal regulation from the policy makers' point of view. The results show that, to meet the increasing social value attributed to water resources and pollution, major changes are needed in crop mix and policy design. However, changes in the economic role of farming and in the (cultural) attitudes of local populations towards agricultural work may have an even greater weight than water policy in the use of this resource.

A multicriteria model for planning agricultural regions within a context of groundwater rational management

“…This methodology has been successfully implemented on real agricultural systems for decoupling (Arriaza and Gomez-Limon, 2006); for water agricultural policy (Bartolini et al, 2007a,b;Bazzani et al, 2005;Berbel, 1993;Berbel et al, 2009;Berbel and Gomez-Limon, 1999;Manos et al 2009a;Gomez-Limon and Riesgo, 2004;Gomez-Limon et al, 2002;Pujol et al, 2006;Rizov, 2004); for farm planning (Gomez-Limon and Atance, 2004;Hardaker et al, 1991); for environmental management (Manos et al, 2004(Manos et al, , 2006(Manos et al, , 2007aArabatzis and Manos 2005;Manos et al 2009b). The MMP model was chosen because of the variety of criteria taken into account by farmers when they plan their crop plans, broadening in this way the traditional assumption of gross margin maximisation.…”

A decision tool for sustainable agricultural policies: the case of water saving scenarios for Apulia Region (Southern Italy)

“…Under such conditions, the effective planning of water resources should take place for a sustainable strategy (Bazzani et al, 2005;Jacobsen et al, 2012) and should be balanced by programmes mainly on the demand side (Sjömander Magnusson, 2004;Christian-Smith et al, 2012;Aregay et al, 2013).…”

Irrigation Water: Alternative Pricing Schemes Under Uncertain Climatic Conditions

“…Tsur and others (Tsur et al, 2004) presented a similarly wide-ranging analysis. Most of these studies based their conclusions on the results of numerical modelling and generally did not consider the uncertainties that farmers face in making decisions (Bazzani et al, 2005;Riesgo & Gómez-Limón, 2006;Bartolini et al, 2007;Berbel et al, 2007;Semaan et al, 2007;. However, uncertainty related to climate change is an important aspect of decision-making in the context of the management of agro-ecosystems and agricultural production.…”