The twin-challenges of drought and water scarcity have become more prominent matters of consideration for Europe in recent years. Arguably one of the most severe examples we see of this on the continent is in Greece, which on one hand has been facing bouts of wildfires in the summer over the past few years. On the other hand, the summer period also finds Greece facing increasing challenges in water supply across many of its islands. The risk of both wildfires and water scarcity in Greece has increased, as climate change hazards (such as higher average surface temperatures and more variability in rainfall) make the intensity and frequency of both higher than usual. As the European Drought Observatory (EDO) has designated the majority of Greece as either at ‘warning’ or ‘alert’ of drought, we can expect the aforementioned climate hazards to continue resulting in further wildfires and water scarcity, unless effective mitigation and adaptation measures are implemented to abate severe negative impacts.

Even though Greece is not one of the Case Study (CS) locations for the RethinkAction project, the twin-challenges of both drought and water scarcity are also hallmarks of the project’s other CS geographies. In the case of the CS in Almería province (Spain), it does not face wildfires anywhere near the scale of Greece, but has also been classified by the EDO as at ‘warning’ level of drought. In fact, the autonomous state Andalucía within which Almería province is located, has also experienced extended periods of drought due to the same climate hazards of lower rates of precipitation, higher surface temperatures, and others specific to the province. Almería province was itself considered as having 307 square kilometres of land near Tabernas classified as either semi-arid to arid in the 20th century. However, a recent study by the Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA - CSIC) revised the total area of land in the province under this classification upwards to a total of 3,332 square kilometres. The extent of this land degradation in the province can be considered desertification, as it is in semi-arid to arid areas, which are affected by various climatic drivers and human (in)activity. The process of desertification leads to less moisture content in the land, thereby making it unproductive and prone to wildfires like those witnessed in Greece. According to local sources, this is a risk for most of Spain, as up to 75% of the country’s land was recently classified as ‘at risk’ of desertification.

The significance of drought, desertification and water scarcity for Almería province is best understood in the context of one of the main human activities undertaken in this region: Agriculture. Almería province produces up to an estimated 3.5 million tonnes of fruit and vegetable produce per year, making it the 4th largest producer of the same globally. Its climate makes the conditions favourable for doing so, especially in the off-season for produce such as melons, cucumbers, tomato, and peppers among others. As such, Europe is considerably dependent on Almería’s agricultural industry for food security, especially during the winter months. However, the scale and significance of the agricultural sector in the province has prompted farmers to widen their access to water supply as granted by the authorities, but at an unchecked and unsustainable rate. During the intense growth of the agricultural industry in the province, many underground aquifers were exploited to ensure that the farmers had enough water to irrigate their crops, as the province is reported to have the lowest levels of precipitation in Europe. However, the aquifers are running dry due to over-exploitation, and the current drought and water scarcity conditions facing the province spell out risks to the food security of the region (and Europe), as well as to the livelihoods of the people engaged in the province’s agricultural sector.

Aside from the impact on human health that water scarcity presents, the worsening drought conditions across the country have forced citizens to alter significant aspects of their lives and behaviour. For example, there have been reports of citizens in small communities who need to travel to springs near their communities multiple times a week to fetch drinking water, as this is a resource that is no longer domestically available to the extent it was before. Not only does this task take time that could otherwise be used productively, but it renders citizens vulnerable to the effects of the high outdoor temperatures, especially the elderly. In an effort to abate the drought conditions across the country, Spain has heavily invested in desalination plants to close the gap between the supply and demand of water. It is estimated that Spain is the world’s 5th largest producer of desalinated water, with well over 750 desalination plants across the country. In Andalucía itself, policies and measures were announced at the tail-end of 2023 to increase water supply to residents in water-stressed locations. Part of the measures to be enacted include the provision for portable desalination plants, which can be operated from the locations most impacted by drought conditions. Such portable plants have the reported capacity of up to 4 to 5 hectometers per year, supplying approximately 40,000 citizens with water. Aside from desalination, many regional autonomous governments have also rationed water usage by 50 - 80% especially in rural areas, from which much of the country’s animal produce comes. In addition to this, authorities have also been importing water from other parts of Spain, either by road or sea, which itself is an added cost to consider and budget for.9 If the drought situation worsens across the country, not only will the risks posed revolve around the agricultural sector, but they will also extend towards a possible widening of nationwide and regional socioeconomic disparities.

As part of our work on all the CSs in the RethinkAction project, we have co-developed a set of Land-use based Adaptation and Mitigation Solutions (LAMS) with local stakeholders, that have the potential to counteract the worsening drought conditions. This can take place either through the adoption of sustainable land-use planning practices, better land management or behavioural change. Land-use is also important towards achieving the climate targets of the European Union (EU), as productive and healthy land has the potential not only to ensure food security, but also to act as a carbon sink for the emissions currently in the atmosphere. In the next stakeholder interaction in Almería (scheduled for later this year), we will engage local stakeholders on the evaluation of the LAMS relevant to the province in terms of feasibility and efficiency. Based on the collected data, we will then be able to model the impact that the LAMS would have in each CS location. The modelling will be available on the project’s platform, and will therefore be able to serve as a guiding tool for EU citizens and decision-makers to inform themselves about and be part of climate action directly in their own spheres of influence.