The AQUEDUCT project develops innovative water accounting tools to improve sustainable water management across Mediterranean agricultural and natural ecosystems. By combining field monitoring, satellite data, and advanced hydrological modeling, AQUEDUCT quantifies water availability, water use, and water governance interactions under climate change and water scarcity conditions.
Concept
The AQUEDUCT project is built on a central idea:
water management requires accurate, quantified knowledge of how water is interconnected within a catchment. Water interconnectedness refers to the links between:
In water-scarce regions, these links become critical, as any withdrawal by one user directly impacts others. Agriculture and natural ecosystems are the largest water users through:
To address current knowledge gaps, AQUEDUCT focuses on:
A Multidisciplinary approach
The project mobilises the partnerships in a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach that the scientific teams have been building for years with local (farmer, farmer association), regional (e.g. agricultural and water authorities) and national (water agency, ministry of agriculture) stakeholders. All the stakeholders indicated in Table below are involved for their knowledge and needs regarding water accounts for each site. Additionally, we analyse with some of them how the water accounts provided by our new and innovative tools and methods can influence decision-making and policy-making processes, potentially enhancing sustainable and equitable water governance. The scientific partners, sites and associated stakeholders involved in the AQUEDUCT project are listed below.
| Country | Site name | Scientific partner* | Name and type of stakeholder** | Strategic water resource | Water use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Flumendosa catchment | UniCa (It) | ENAS, ADIS, Consorzio Bonifica Sardegna Meridionale (Wat-Ag) | Two large dams | Irrigation (70%), urban, industrial |
| Morocco | Tensift basin | UM6P, UCA (Mo) | ABHT (Wat-Ag), ORMVAH (Wat-Ag), water users’ associations (Us-Ass) | Dams, aquifers, irrigation districts, snow | Irrigation (80%), industry, domestic use |
| Spain | Segre basin – Lleida irrigation district | IRTA (Sp) | Individual farmers (Far); Irrigation district canals d’Urgell; irrigation district Segarra-Garrigues; irrigation district Comunidad General de Regantes de Aragón y Cataluña (Far-Ass); Conf. Hidrográfica del Ebro (Wat-Ag) | Irrigation districts under different levels of modernisation | Irrigated agriculture from surface water; natural ecosystems |
| Segre basin – Tarragona Valls irrigation district | IRTA (Sp) | Individual farmers (Far); Community of irrigators Baix Ter; Community of irrigators La Muga (Far-Ass); Catalan Water Agency (Wat-Ag) | Irrigation districts | Irrigation (surface water and groundwater); natural ecosystems; industrial use; drinking water | |
| Tunisia | Lebna catchment – Cap Bon | INRGREF (Tu), CERTE (Tu), INRAE (Fr), IRD (Fr) | Individual farmers (Far); Agricultural development group (Far-Ass); Nabeul Agricultural Development Commission (Wat-Ag & LU-Ag); Lebna dam authority (Res-Ag); Ministry of Agriculture (Nat-Auth) | Lebna dam; aquifer of Eastern Coast of Cap Bon | Rainfed agriculture; irrigated agriculture; natural ecosystems; industrial use; drinking water |
| Kamech – Cap Bon | INRGREF (Tu), INRAE (Fr), IRD (Fr) | Individual farmers (Far); Nabeul Agricultural Development Commission (Wat-Ag & LU-Ag); Ministry of Agriculture (Nat-Auth) | Small reservoir | Rainfed agriculture; irrigated agriculture; natural ecosystems | |
| Béni-Khalled – Cap Bon | INRGREF (Tu), IRD (Fr) | Individual farmers (Far); Agricultural development group (Far-Ass); Technical centre for citrus (LU-Ag); Nabeul Agricultural Development Commission (Wat-Ag & LU-Ag) | Aquifer of Grombalia Plain | Irrigated agriculture |
Type of stakeholder: Far=Farmers; Far-Ass=Farmers association;
Us-Ass= Users assoc.; Wat- Ag= Regional authority, service or company in charge of regional water management ;
LU-Ag= Regional auth., serv. or comp. in charge of land-use or agricultural management or agricultural advisory;
Res-Ag: Auth., serv. or comp. in charge of water production;
Nat-Auth: National auth. in charge of policy making for management of agriculture, water, natural resources or land-use.
