title: Climate Change and European Water Bodies, a Review of Existing Gaps and Future Research Needs: Findings of the ClimateWater Project.
abstract: There is general agreement among scientists that global temperatures are rising and will continue to increase in the future. It is also agreed that human activities are the most important causes of these climatic variations, and that water resources are already suffering and will continue to be greatly impaired as a consequence of these changes. In particular, it is probable that areas with limited water resources will expand and that an increase of global water demand will occur, estimated to be around 35-60% by 2025 as a consequence of population growth and the competing needs of water uses. This will cause a growing imbalance between water demand (including the needs of nature) and supply. This urgency demands that climate change impacts on water be evaluated in different sectors using a cross-cutting approach (Contestabile in Nat Clim Chang 3:11-12, 2013). These issues were examined by the EU FP7-funded Co-ordination and support action "ClimateWater" (bridging the gap between adaptation strategies of climate change impacts and European water policies). The project studied adaptation strategies to minimize the water-related consequences of climate change and assessed how these strategies should be taken into consideration by European policies. This article emphasizes that knowledge gaps still exist about the direct effects of climate change on water bodies and their indirect impacts on production areas that employ large amounts of water (e.g., agriculture). Some sectors, such as ecohydrology and alternative sewage treatment technologies, could represent a powerful tool to mitigate climate change impacts. Research needs in these still novel fields are summarized.
authors.affiliation: Water Research Institute, Italian National Research Council, Via De Blasio 5, 70132, Bari, Italy, monica.garnier@ba.irsa.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garnier
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.forename: Lotta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blaskovicova
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hancz
authors.forename: Georg A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Janauer
authors.forename: Zsolt
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jolánkai
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lanz
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lo Porto
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mándoki
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pataki
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rahuel
authors.forename: Victoria J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stoate
authors.forename: Eszter
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tóth
authors.forename: Géza
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jolánkai
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D058735:Environmental Policy; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D011158:Population Growth; D018508:Water Purification; D062066:Water Resources / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*