Northern Mediterranean Community

https://climate.copernicus.eu/esotc/2024/key-events
European State of the Climate: Key Events. It seems a number of droughts (and heatwaves and wildfires) took place in Northern Mediterranean area in 2024.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100874
this is an interesting article published on Global Food Security
Revisiting the drought-food insecurity nexus: a social-ecological systems perspective

Joint IDMP and FAO Virtual Exchange on “Inclusive Drought Planning: From Guidelines to Action”, taking place on Tuesday, 2 September 2025, 14:00 – 15:30 CEST (12:00 – 13:30 UTC).

The session will focus on integrating Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) into drought management, featuring expert presentations, case studies, and a panel discussion on applying these insights in practice.

🔗 Register here: https://gwp-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/R8NoAvAFQr6K0YdN3qn0CQ#/regist…

🌐 More info: https://www.droughtmanagement.info/news/virtual-exchnage-inclusive-drou…

Before the event, join the discussion in the IDMP Community of Practice: https://waterclimatecommunities.info/group/IDMP/stream

UNCCD CRIC 23: Side and special events
See this link to the official site: https://www.unccd.int/cric23/side-events

https://www.travelandtourworld.tw/news/article/italys-vacation-paradise…
Water scarcity in Sicily. Possibly cross-sector competition of water resources (e.g., between agriculture and tourism)

A few projects by UNEP/Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP):
https://www.unep.org/unepmap/index.php/what-we-do/projects
These are in integrated approaches and drought and climate change are important aspects.

Drought and heatwave have such strong direct impact on tourism, not only via indirect means such as water use restrictions in the tourism industry.
See the link at Indepedent for the situation in Athens (Greece): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greece-extreme-heatwave…

Mediterranean islands face compounded climate risks, not only from sea-level rise but from increasing drought and aridity. These trends undermine water security, public health, and local economies, core pillars of well-being. As recognized by the ICJ, climate change poses an urgent and existential threat requiring coordinated, anticipatory governance, especially for vulnerable island systems.

Forwarded by Sandra Megens , we can see the Mediterranean Sea surface temperatures and changes (source: https://climate.copernicus.eu/esotc/2024/graphics-gallery/european-ocean).

I think this research article is a good review of existing studies on water consumption in the tourism industry in Spain, which can possibly benefit other N. Mediterranean countries as well, because they also have a substantial tourism industry in national economy.

The Priority of Water Consumption in the Spanish Tourism Industry: A Dilemma for Residents and Researchers
by Lázaro Florido-Benítez
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(16), 7125; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167125

Abstract: Spain is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. Regional governments face the challenge of ensuring long-term water security for residents and tourists. In 2024, Catalonia declared a state of emergency to tackle the problem of a lack of water. Catalonia and Andalusia regions imposed water restrictions, prohibiting residents from washing the exterior of their houses and cars or filling their swimming pools to guarantee tourism activities in hotels and other tourism companies. The research objective of the present study is to tackle the priority of water consumption in the Spanish tourism industry so that the availability of water is guaranteed for residents, without constraints on the supply. This research uses qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain a comprehensive view of the water consumption in Spain’s territory and the main zones of water scarcity that are affecting residents and the tourism industry. In addition, this study uses the Web of Science (WoS) database to analyse the bibliometrics on the topic of water consumption in the tourism industry from 2000 to 2023, as well as quantify the number of articles published by researchers. Findings reveal that although the tourism industry is the economic engine of Spain, water consumption by tourists is above the level of consumption of residents, and this asymmetrical situation should be reversed in favour of the welfare of Spanish citizens. It is noteworthy that the water scarcity in Spain and its continuing restrictions in the Andalusian and Catalonian regions have caused huge problems with drinking water supply in the last few years. Indeed, local and regional Spanish governments cannot demand that a resident consume 133 L per day, while a tourist is allowed to consume between 400 and 1000 L per day. For this reason, water availability must be a priority for residents, and after that, the tourism industry. Economic interests cannot override citizens’ needs and well-being. This research has helped us better understand the complex relationships between the use of water in the tourism industry and by residents in the context of climate change.