Groundwater is endangered and polluted in several ways. Conservation and
better management of this invisible resource should be a key ingredient
of sustainable water policies. This is especially true in areas, such
as many Mediterranean regions, which are already exposed to scarcity
problems and which are likely to experience increasing competition
between freshwater uses and users. Agriculture is an important user of
groundwater not only in terms of abstractions, but also in terms of
generation and release of pollutants. Agricultural policies,
traditionally directed towards other objectives, are beginning to pay
more attention to environmental considerations. However more effective
initiatives are required to reduce the pressure upon groundwater
resources and to achieve a better integration between agricultural and
environmental policies.  

Contributors: C. Dosi, S. Tonin, A. Giacomelli, et al;
N. Becker, N. Hernández-Mora, et al., N. Zeitouni, I. Heinz, H.T.A.
Bressers, M. Barbier, E. Chia, G. Karagiannis, A. Xepapadeas, J.
Calatrava, A. Garrido, F. Ceña, D. Ortiz, F. Brouwer

Groundwater is endangered and polluted in several ways. Conservation and better management of this invisible resource should be a key ingredient of sustainable water policies. This is especially true in areas, such as many Mediterranean regions, which are already exposed to scarcity problems and which are likely to experience increasing competition between freshwater uses and users. Agriculture is an important user of groundwater not only in terms of abstractions, but also in terms of generation and release of pollutants. Agricultural policies, traditionally directed towards other objectives, are beginning to pay more attention to environmental considerations. However more effective initiatives are required to reduce the pressure upon groundwater resources and to achieve a better integration between agricultural and environmental policies.  

Contributors: C. Dosi, S. Tonin, A. Giacomelli et al., N. Becker, N. Hernández-Mora et al., N. Zeitouni, I. Heinz, H. T. A. Bressers, M. Barbier, E. Chia, G. Karagiannis, A. Xepapadeas, J. Calatrava, A. Garrido, F. Ceña, D. Ortiz, F. Brouwer