Mediterranean irrigation is diverse due to, among other factors, the relative importance of water in the economy of each country, varied levels of aridity, heterogeneous levels economic, social and technological levels of development, and differences in political and social organization. However, most of the Mediterranean countries face similar problems to meet their water demands because of the scarcity and variability of renewable resources, growing water requirements from non-agricultural sectors, increasing environmental concerns related to water quality and environmental degradation, a social demand for larger public participation, and important technological changes. The time has come to reconsider the not one drop lost to the sea philosophy of yesteryears largely and to 'live within limits'.
This book focuses on eight selected countries (Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Israel and Egypt) and provides a comparative perspective that both thoroughly explores their specificities and identifies the common challenges faced by the irrigation sector in these countries. The book has been written at a critical moment, when the continued application of a supply-side water management model is revealing its unsustainable nature in numerous places; when significant technological changes are taking place in the irrigation sector; when new forms of management and governance are widely held as badly needed; and finally, when climate change is compounding many of the difficulties that have characterized irrigation policies and practices in the past decades.
This complicated future context makes Mediterranean irrigation face various political dilemmas on water management, raising social tensions, triggering territorial and land conflicts, and stimulating new technological developments. This book provides a timely analysis of the particular trajectory of eight Mediterranean countries in these uncertain transformations,and attempts to identify the best strategies to avert or overcome future risks.

Provides a critical view of the recent irrigation policies and practices in 8 selected Mediterranean countries Analyses the current processes of technological and institutional change on irrigation in the Mediterranean Identifies the main challenges of Mediterranean irrigation for the next decades

Autorentext
François Molle is a senior researcher with 33 years of experience in the field of water institutions. He has worked extensively in countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Iran, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Mali, Thailand and Vietnam, on irrigation system and river basin management, water resources planning and management, groundwater governance, and institutional/policy analysis. A researcher at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France, he has been seconded during ten years to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Sri Lanka and later Egypt. François Molle is also involved in teaching (in various universities), capacity building and PhD supervision. He is currently based in Montpellier, France. His authored 250 publications, including 100 book chapters or articles in peer-reviewed journals, and edited several volumes such as Irrigation water pricing: the gap between theory and practice, River basins: trajectories, societies, environments, Contested waterscapes in the Mekong region: Hydropower, livelihoods and governance. He serves as an editorial board member in several scientific journals and is co-editor of the Water Alternatives journal.
Carles Sanchis-Ibor is a geographer working as researcher at the Centro Valenciano de Estudios del Riego of the Universitat Politècnica de València since 2000, and lecturer at the Faculty of Geography and History of the Universitat de València since 2001. His work has been focused on irrigation institutions, water policy and environmental management. He is author of 102 publications including 64 book chapters and articles in peer-viewed journals, and 4 books. He is also editor of 2 books, has tutorized 2 PhD Thesis. He has participated in 11 research projects and 36 consultancy contracts with public administrations and private entities. He is member of the board of trustees of the Assut Foundation for the protection and defense of traditional irrigation and wetlands of the Mediterranean.
Llorenç Avellá-Reus is agricultural engineer and full professor of Agricultural and Environmental Economics at the Universitat Politècnica de València and member of the Centro Valenciano de Estudios del Riego. His work has been focused on immigration and labour market in agriculture, land use change and water economics and water policy. He has participated in 49 research projects and has been a consultant to several public and private entities. He is the author of about 40 articles and 15 books and he has tutorized 9 PhD theses

Inhalt
Chapter 1. Irrigation in the Mediterranean: An Introduction (Carles Sanchis-Ibor, François Molle).- Chapter 2. Tunisia (Abdelkader Hamdane).- Chapter 3. Morocco (François Molle, Oumaima Tanouti, Nicolas Faysse).- Chapter 4. Spain (Marta García-Mollá, Carles Sanchis-Ibor, Lorenzo Avellà, José Albiac, Daniel Isidoro and Sergio Lecina).- Chapter 5. France (Sébastien Loubier, Thierry Ruf, Patrice Garin).- Chapter 6: Italy (Gabriele Dono, Simone Severini, Davide Dell'Unto, Raffaele Cortignani).- Chapter 7. Turkey (Sevilay Topçu, Aysegul Kibaroglu, Zeynep Kadirbeyoglu).- Chapter 8. Israel (Doron Lavee, Eran Feitelson, Hadas Joseph-Ezra).- Chapter 9. Egypt (François Molle).- Chapter 10. Irrigation in the Mediterranean, Trends and Challenges (François Molle, Carles Sanchis-Ibor).