Implementation of effective drought management policies requires both advanced technologies and appropriate methods. Monitoring and forecasting systems, practical tools for risk assessment, as well as simple and objective criteria to select and implement appropriate drought mitigation measures are key elements for a successful drought management strategy.

These key issues have been tackled by universities and public agencies involved in the EU projects Sedemed and Sedemed II (Programme Interreg IIIB MEDOCC), aimed at the definition of an integrated network for real time monitoring of drought, the development of common methodologies for drought analysis and forecasting, as well as the definition of proper mitigation strategies for the Mediterranean countries.

The book presents the main outcomes of such projects with a special focus on: drought monitoring and forecasting techniques at different spatial scales; new or modified agrometeorological indices and remote sensing technique for drought identification and characterization; tools to improve surface water resources management under drought conditions; methods and tools for groundwater resources monitoring and management, based on hydrogeological and hydrodynamics characteristics of aquifers; general criteria to select and implement mitigation strategies to prevent or minimize drought impacts.

Provides various methods of drought monitoring at different spatial scales, as well as innovative drought forecasting techniques based on stochastic approaches Besides common drought indices (i.e. SPI), new agrometeorological indices are proposed Decision Support System for water resources management under drought conditions, also including quality aspects, are illustrated Methods and tools for monitoring groundwater, in relation to the hydrodynamic characteristics of aquifers and to the variations in pluviometric inputs, are presented Guidelines for the selection and implementation of drought mitigation measures are presented, and specific examples, referred to the agricultural and urban sectors, are provided

Inhalt
Drought Monitoring and Forecasting.- Drought Monitoring and Forecasting at Large Scale.- Monitoring and Forecasting Drought on a Regional Scale: Emilia-Romagna Region.- Development of the Piedmont Region Hydrological Bulletin as a Support to Water Resources Monitoring and Management.- Is Drought Occurrence And Severity Increasing Due to Climate Change? Analysing Drought Class Transitions With Loglinear Models.- Stochastic Forecasting of Drought Indices.- Drought Description Through Agrometeorological Indices.- Use Of a New Agricultural Drought Index Within a Regional Drought Observatory.- Distributed Estimation of Actual Evapotranspiration Through Remote Sensing Techniques.- Testing a Modification of the Palmer Drought Severity Index for Mediterranean Environments.- Regional Drought Identification and Assessment. Case Study in Crete.- Water Resources Management Under Drought Conditions.- Drought Management Decision Support System by Means of Risk Analysis Models.- Mixed Simulation-Optimization Technique for Complex Water Resource System Analysis Under Drought Conditions.- Reservoirs Water-Quality Characterization for Optimization Modelling Under Drought Conditions PART I Reservoirs Trophic State Characterization.- Reservoirs Water-Quality Characterization for Optimization Modelling Under Drought Conditions Part II Water-Quality Optimization Modelling.- Monitoring And Management Of Groundwater Under Drought Conditions.- Methods and Tools for Groundwater Monitoring Aimed at the Water Resources Management Under Drought Conditions.- Study And Monitoring Of Salt Water Intrusion In The Coastal Area Between Mazara Del Vallo And Marsala (South-Western Sicily).- Drought Impacts And Mitigation Measures.- Guidelines for Planning and Implementing Drought MitigationMeasures.- Drought Impacts in Agriculture: Water Conservation and Water Saving Practices and Management.- Assessment of Water Shortage In Urban Areas.- Drought Risk in Agriculture in Mediterranean Regions. Case Study: Eastern Crete.