p. 213-255 | Food security and water security in the Mediterranean are intrinsically linked and are facing similar challenges. Food security is threatened mainly by the high dependency of Mediterranean countries on food imports, making them vulnerable to external pressures such as volatile food prices. From a nutritional standpoint, the number of overweight and obese people has increased as a result of the traditional Mediterranean diet being abandoned. Water security has degenerated due to the deterioration of internal freshwater resources, both in terms of water quantity and quality, with a high dependency on external water resources, higher regional water footprints than the global average, increasing scarcity of renewable water resources, an increased number and capacity of dams exerting pressure on freshwater ecosystems, and a growing risk of conflicts between water users and countries. Access to water and sanitation remains a major challenge in the region. Territorial divisions separating coastal urban and remote rural areas are growing stronger, making isolated populations such as smallholder farmers particularly at risk of food and water insecurity. With climate change, precipitation is expected to decrease and temperatures to rise in the region, which will affect water supply (and thereby energy and food supply). It will also directly affect soil moisture and crop growth, thereby further increasing irrigation water needs. There are clear but difficult to measure interactions between the water, energy and agricultural sectors, as they are all interdependent, which calls for integrated policies and management. Agriculture being the largest water user in the region, further efforts need to be made to promote the use of non-conventional water resources. The conservation and restoration of Mediterranean agroecosystems is key to ensuring sustainable development. This requires better management of continuing arable land loss, land use intensification, and soil erosion and salinization. Integrated Water Resources Management and Water Demand Management (WDM) provide guidelines for achieving better water efficiency and reducing conflicts between users.

This study investigates food trade patterns in relation to water resources availability in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMED). Examinations show that most of these countries have a high dependence on the import of water intensive crops -- cereal, vegetable oil and sugar, in the domestic food supply. The region as a whole is marginally a net exporter of fruits and vegetables, while variations are substantial across countries. Multi-variable regression analyses show that intensification of water scarcity is an important factor in explaining the increase in food import in the SEMED countries during the past two decades. It also finds that while GDP per capita has a strong influence on the level of food import in a country, its impact on changes in the import during the same period is rather modest. No significant relationship is found between the trade of fruits and vegetables and water resources availability. The projection on food import with respect to the decline in per capita water resources availability results in an increase of 40%, 39% and 14%, respectively, for cereal, vegetable oil and sugar by 2020 in the region, holding other factors constant. The European Union (EU) is the major food trade partner of the SEMED countries, except for cereal. About 70% of the fruit export and 55% of the vegetable export of the region currently go to the EU market. Expanding the export of fruits and vegetables is conducive to improving the value of water use in the SEMED countries. However, the expansion is constrained partly by the barriers in the destination markets, notably the EU.

The complex relationship between water, energy, food, and ecological systems, known as the WEFE nexus, has emerged as a major topic in the debate about sustainable economic development and resource management. This subject is of special interest in Mediterranean coastal areas as rapid economic expansion driven by population growth, higher influx of tourists, and intensification of agriculture is leading to structural water scarcity conditions. However, addressing the diverse range of issues associated with the nexus is a difficult task due to the existence of intricate interconnections, interdependencies, and nonlinearities within and across its various components. Accordingly, this case study applies a combination of participatory systems modeling and network analysis tools to yield insights into the complexity of this nexus in Axarquia, a region with features that make it an example of water-stressed jurisdictions in the Mediterranean. Overall, our results provide a strong foundation to understand the dynamics that govern this nexus in regions where the availability of freshwater resources is a significant concern. Furthermore, they lay the groundwork for the development of models and scenarios to simulate the impact of various policies and interventions on the overall system.

Water use and agricultural practices in the Mediterranean area are unsustainable. The situation is worsened by the increased frequency of droughts and floods, as well as desertification and soil depletion, associated with climate change. The aim of Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) is to foster an integrated programme of sustainable food production and water provision in the framework of the water-energy-food nexus. A monitoring tool developed under PRIMA is based on the Sustainable Development Goals, two of which are specifically dedicated to food security (SDG 2) and sustainable management of water (SDG 6).The 12 indicators that have been chosen to be monitored in the Mediterranean area are: Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI); population overweight (%); land use (%); GHG emissions (total and AFOLU)(tCO₂ₑ); cereal yield (kg/ha); agriculture value added (US$/worker); fertilizer consumption (kg/haₐᵣₐbₗₑ ₗₐₙd); crop water productivity (kg/m³); annual freshwater withdrawal for agriculture (%); population served using with safely managed water service (rural, %); population served using with safely managed sanitation (rural, %); amount of agricultural residues used for energy purposes (t). Datasets for these indicators are collected by international bodies such as the World Bank, WHO, FAO and UNFCCC; recent series are available for almost all Mediterranean countries and are constantly updated. The aim of the proposed monitoring tool is to keep track of the impact generated in by PRIMA research and innovation projects Mediterranean countries.

Increasing pressure affects water resources, especially in the agricultural sector, with cascading impacts on energy consumption. This is particularly relevant in the Mediterranean area, showing significant water scarcity problems, further exacerbated by the crucial economic role of agricultural production. Assessing the sustainability of water resource use is thus essential to preserving ecosystems and maintaining high levels of agricultural productivity. This paper proposes an integrated methodology based on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus to evaluate the multi-dimensional implications of irrigation practices. Three different indices are introduced, based on an analysis of the most influential factors. The methodology is then implemented in a catchment located in Puglia (Italy) and a comparative analysis of the three indices is presented. The results mainly highlight that economic land productivity is a key driver of irrigated agriculture, and that groundwater is highly affordable compared to surface water, thus being often dangerously perceived as freely available.

Irrigation in the Mediterranean region has been used for millennia and has greatly expanded with industrialization. Irrigation is critical for climate change adaptation, but it is also an important source of greenhouse gas emissions. This study analyzes the carbon (C) footprint of irrigation in Spain, covering the complete historical process of mechanization. A 21-fold total, 6-fold area-based, and 4-fold product-based increase in the carbon footprint was observed during the 20th century, despite an increase in water use efficiency. CH₄ emissions from waterbodies, which had not previously been considered in the C footprint of irrigation systems, dominated the emission budget during most of the analyzed period. Technologies to save water and tap new water resources greatly increased energy and infrastructure demand, while improvements in power generation efficiency had a limited influence on irrigation emissions. Electricity production from irrigation dams may contribute to climate change mitigation, but the amount produced in relation to that consumed in irrigation has greatly declined. High uncertainty in CH₄ emission estimates from waterbodies stresses a need for more spatially resolved data and an improved empirical knowledge of the links between water quality, water level fluctuations, and emissions at the regional scale.