Stakeholders' perspective on groundwater management in four water-stressed Mediterranean areas:
priorities and challenges
R. Boni'
Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino, Italy
P. Teatini, C. Zoccarato
Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering,
University of Padova, Padova, Italy
C. Guardiola-Albert, P. Ezquerro, G. Bru
Geohazards InSAR Laboratory and Modeling Group, Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana,
Madrid, Spain
R. Tomás, J. Valdes-Abellan, C. Pla, M. I. Navarro-Hernandez
Universidad de Alicante, Dpto. de Ingenieria Civil, Alicante, Spain
A. Elçi
Department of Civil Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir, Turkey
B. Çaylak, A. H. Ören
Department of Civil Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir, Turkeyy
K. Shatanawi, H. A. Hajar
Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
A. H. Mohammad
Water, Energy and Environment Center, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
T. Letterio, R. Genovesi
Consorzio di Bonifica di Secondo Grado per il Canale Emiliano Romagnolo, Bologna, Italy
H. Hreisha, Q. Al-Mimi
Azraq Wetland Reserve, The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, Amman, Jordan
C. Meisina
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy
Recent studies highlight the fragility of the Mediterranean basin against climate stresses
and the difficulties of managing the sustainable development of groundwater resources. In this
work, the main issues related to groundwater management have been identified from the stakeholder’s
perspective in the following four representative water-stressed Mediterranean areas: the
coastal aquifer of Comacchio (Italy), the Alto Guadalentín aquifer (Spain), the alluvial aquifer of the
Gediz River basin (Turkey), and the Azraq aquifer (Azraq Wetland Reserve, Jordan). This has been
achieved by designing a methodology to involve and engage a representative set of stakeholders,
including a questionnaire to learn their point of view concerning the current management of aquifer
systems and their experience with the already available tools for groundwater resource management,
such as monitoring networks and numerical models. The outcome of the survey has allowed
us to identify both particular and common challenges among the four study sites and among the
various groups of stakeholders. This information provides valuable insights to improve the transfer
of scientific knowledge from the research centers to the authorities managing the groundwater resources
and it will help to plan more effective research activities on aquifer management. The proposed
methodology could be applied in other aquifers facing similar problems.
