Project manager: Zucaro Raffaella

Class project: Progetto Pluriennale

Expiration date: 31/12/2013

The project aims at defining cognitive and decisional tools in order to support the Italian agriculture toward the process of adaptation to and mitigation of climate change impacts on the use of irrigation water. The research of such tools is developed through a sequence of studies, based on Italian agricultural systems and areas, on the impacts of potential climate change scenarios relative to the change in the availability and distribution of water resources. The evaluation of the decisional tools will be implemented by following criteria of environmental and economic sustainability, considering the increasing economic value of the water resources.

Main activities:

1. Acknowledgement of the main issues related to water availability in relation to climate change in progress.
In specific test areas, acknowledgement of the main issues related to the variation of water availability due to climate change. Technical-economic evaluation of some adaptation actions that are devised for maintaining or increasing water availability for agriculture. The study will consider the following adaptation actions:

• wastewater reuse for agriculture;
• transformation of high-volume irrigation techniques into low-volume techniques (for instance, from flood to sprinkler or drip irrigation);
• transformation of the irrigation networks characterized by high water losses;
• technological improvement actions (water withdrawals measuring instruments, remote-control instruments, etc.)
• water management solutions (changes in organization of the water distribution among the farmers and changes in water prices).

2. Exchange of information with teams of Agroscenari, National Rural Network and RICA (FADN). Setting up a system of relations and exchange of information with research teams involved in the Agroscenari project, with specific responsibility for planning and managing water resources, to relate to available information also from National Rural Network and RICA (FADN).

3. General study on the economic impact of climate change on irrigation sector. Economic evaluation (in terms of value-chain profitability) of the effects of climate change on irrigation water availability.

4. Transfer of project results to the entities belonging to the project and participation to meetings, seminars and workshops and publications for the dissemination of results.